JONESBORO, Ark. – Texas State pushed the Sun Belt Conference's top team to the edge Saturday night, but could not get over the hump in the fifth set. Arkansas State survived the Bobcats, 3-2 (25-16, 20-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10) to stay undefeated in conference play while the Bobcats dropped to 12-10 overall and 7-2 in the SBC.
 
Four Bobcats tallied double-figure kills, led by Kelsey Weynand. She finished with 14 kills and propelled the Bobcats through the middle sets. Meanwhile, Shelby Vas Matt put down 12 kills and both of them finished with double-doubles with 15 digs for Vas Matt and 14 for Weynand. It's Weynand's fourth double-double of the season and the third for Vas Matt. Saturday marks the second match in a row both juniors were able to put double-doubles on the stat sheet.
 
Madison Daigle and Jordan Kohl added 11 kills apiece to keep the offense balanced with Daigle doing it on a .400 hitting percentage. The freshman also added two solo blocks with three block assists to be in on five of Texas State's six blocks on the night. Lauren Kirch was in on three.
 
The Bobcats ran a 6-2 rotation that led to a combined 48 assists for Erin Hoppe and Emily Shelton. Hoppe finished with 25. In service, Hoppe added an ace while Vas Matt served up two. Both Morgan Lewis and Weynand added one each to help Texas State outserve the Red Wolves, 5-1. The Bobcats had 25 more aces than Arkansas State coming into the match.
 
Getting her second start at libero for Texas State, Brenna Lyles led the team in digs with 21. In addition to Vas Matt and Weynand, Hoppe also finished with double-digit digs with 11.
 
In the first set, both teams jostled back and forth in the early going with plenty of lead changes and ties until Texas State pulled within one, 12-11. From there, Arkansas State took off on an 11-2 run for a 23-13 lead before Lewis struck a kill to end it. With that kill, the Bobcats went on a 3-0 run thanks to consecutive errors from ASU, but the Red Wolves broke it to score the final two points of the set on kills by Carlisa May.
 
Texas State's offense struggled against the ASU block in the opening set as the Red Wolves put down five blocks to none for the Bobcats. May, a freshman for ASU who has won five consecutive Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Week awards, scored on seven kills in the opening set while Drew Jones put down four. No other Red Wolf tallied more than a single kill. Both Lewis and Weynand had three kills apiece to lead Texas State in the opening frame.
 
The Bobcats answered in the second set and did first and foremost at the net. After no blocks in the first frame, Texas State outblocked ASU, 3-1, in the second set. Daigle and Kirch were in on two of them for the Bobcats. In addition, Texas State served better with an ace each from Lewis and Vas Matt and additional serves that pushed Arkansas State out of the team's system.
 
With Arkansas State adjusting heavily to Bobcat leading hitter Kohl, Weynand stepped up with five more kills and no errors on eight attempts for a .625 percentage in the second frame. She added a team-high five digs in an effort to notch her third double-double of the season.
 
Outside of Weynand, the rest of the Bobcats hit better as Texas State only had one error while forcing six from Arkansas State. With 13 kills and just one error on 31 attempts, the Bobcats hit .387 in the second set while dropping ASU from .306 in the opening frame to .216 in the second set.
 
After each team controlled a set in the first two frames, the third set proved to be a back-and-forth battle, coming down to the end. Daigle was able to end it with a powerful kill in the middle to give Texas State the 2-1 lead in the match. The freshman paced the Bobcats in the third set with five kills while Kohl added four more in some timely spots. Weynand kept up her pace with four more kills for the Bobcats.
 
Meanwhile, to keep the offense balanced, Vas Matt showed up with two timely kills, including a crafty one off an ASU defender to give Texas State set point. Daigle followed with her set-winning eighth kill of the match.
 
The momentum swung in the third set after the Bobcats fell behind, 14-12. Texas State answered with a 4-0 run behind two kills from Weynand and a kill each from Vas Matt and Daigle to go up 16-14. The teams continued to battle down the stretch, but that four-point swing made the difference for Texas State.
 
In the fourth set, Vas Matt came alive for five kills to pace the Bobcat offense. Kohl added four more in the set, but it would not be enough as the Bobcats couldn't counter a .270 hitting percentage from ASU. Both teams had the same amount of errors in the frame, but Arkansas State finished with four more kills.
 
After an Arkansas State 5-0 run, the Bobcats used a 4-0 run to go up 17-16. The Red Wolves, however, weathered the storm and answered with a 4-0 run of their own to regain control of the set and eventually win it, 25-20 to stay alive in the match.
 
To start the fifth set when every point means more, Arkansas State jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind two kills and a Texas State error. After that, the Bobcats could never get over the hump despite some great plays in the final set. Four times in the fifth set, Texas State pulled within one point, but every time Arkansas State answered to never let the Bobcats tie it up.
 
The Bobcats next play in Troy, Ala., when Texas State takes on the Troy Trojans at 6 p.m. Thursday for the front end of a road trip that will end at South Alabama next Saturday.