SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State received career bests out of
Jordan Kohl,
Kelsey Weynand,
Erin Hoppe and
Alex Silver to get a five-set victory over UT Arlington on Tuesday night, 30-28, 25-19, 25-27, 20-25, 15-13. Four Bobcats finished with double-digit kills to improve to 11-8 on the season and 6-1 in Sun Belt Conference action.
Kohl set her new career high with 24 kills on 51 attempts with a .314 hitting percentage to lead the offensive attack. It was the most kills Kohl has had since notching 20 in a conference match against Arkansas State on Nov. 28, 2014. Meanwhile, Weynand put down 22 kills and 11 digs for Texas State's third double-double of the season and her second of the year.
Middle blocker
Morgan Lewis added 11 kills while
Lauren Kirch tallied 10 in the match. Kirch was also in on three blocks while Lewis finished with a solo block and two block assists.
What made the offense go Tuesday night, however, was setter
Erin Hoppe. She gave out her own career high, 62 assists, for an average of 12.4 assists per set. She added five service aces, including two in the deciding fifth set. The Mavericks had no answer for Hoppe in service. With her five aces, Hoppe helped Texas State outserve UTA, 7-1, and kept her lead as the top ace hitter in the SBC during conference play. Hoppe also finished with eight digs, two blocks and four kills.
On the back end, Texas State tallied one more dig than UT Arlington, finishing with 81. Playing libero, Silver tallied a team-high and career-high 24 digs while
Shelby Vas Matt had 18 in the match. Weynand and Hoppe combined for 19 more digs.
The first set showed that Texas State was in for a competitive match against UT Arlington in the in-state rivalry. The battle would end with 42 different ties and 17 lead changes, including 20 ties in the first set alone. The Mavericks would be the first team to reach set point in the opening frame, going up 24-22.
That's when the Bobcats made a move. Hoppe surprised UTA with a kill and Weynand followed with one off a set from Silver. Lewis put away a UTA overpass to put the Bobcats up, 25-24, all of the sudden. The Mavericks answered though and both teams swung back and forth until there was a 28-28 tie. Kohl broke the tie with a kill and an attack error from UT Arlington sealed the win in the first set for the Bobcats.
The second set was also back and forth throughout, but when UTA pulled within two late, 20-18, the Bobcats scored five of the next six points in the frame. Kirch put down consecutive kills followed by a kill from Kohl to make it 23-18. After a UTA point, Kohl struck consecutive kills to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Mavericks showed their mettle after the intermission, outlasting the Bobcats, 27-25, in the third set, then winning the fourth, 25-20. Texas State needed a strong start to the fifth set to gain momentum, and Weynand, Hoppe and Kohl provided just that.
Weynand started the frame with a kill and Hoppe followed with an ace. After that, Kohl put down another kill before a UTA error and a Weynand kill. With a 5-0 lead, Hopper served up her second ace of the set to give Texas State a 6-0 lead in a frame that only goes to 15. The Bobcats would push the lead all the way to 10-4 before UT Arlington made a last ditch effort. The Mavericks would pull within one late, 13-12, but a kill from Weynand and Vas Matt finished the match and kept the Bobcats in the running near the top of the conference standings.
Next up for Texas State will be a quick trip up I-35 to face Big 12 opponent Baylor at 7 p.m. on Friday. After that, the Bobcats will stick to the road for four consecutive conference matches against UT Arlington, Arkansas State, Troy and South Alabama.
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