STATESBORO, Ga. – Texas State will miss out on a third consecutive trip to the Sun Belt Conference Championship finals after falling to No. 2 Appalachian State, 25-22, 25-20, 25-22, in Saturday's semifinal match. The Texas State season ends with a record of 19-12.
 
Defensively, senior Sierra Smith led Texas State with 12 digs in her final match as a Bobcat. Also in her last match, Ali Hubicsak combined with Kelsey Weynand for 13 digs. Weynand would go on to be named to the SBC All-Tournament Team.
 
Shelby Vas Matt led the Bobcats offensively in the match with 10 kills and three service aces. She also doubled up for her seventh double-double of the season with 11 digs. Meanwhile, Madison Daigle finished with eight kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Lauren Kirch added seven kills and two aces.
 
For the second match of the tournament, setter Erin Hoppe finished with more than 10 assists per set, tallying 31 in the match along with two kills, two blocks and a dig. Texas State put down five blocks with Kirch, Hoppe and Jordan Kohl each in on two of them. Both Kirch and Hoppe had solo blocks.
 
It was clear from the beginning of the first set that this match would be hotly contested, and it was. The opening set had 13 ties and five lead changes. There would be 22 ties and 10 lead changes throughout the entirety of the match.
 
Three Bobcats finished the opening set with four kills apiece, but two Mountaineers, Emily Corrgian and SBC Player of the Year Jess Keller equaled that total with six kills apiece. That duo would go on to finish with 17 kills on a .571 hitting percentage for Keller and 12 for Corrigan.
 
While the first set was back-and-forth, Appalachian State put together a .517 hitting percentage while the Bobcats finished it at .281. But neither team would hold more than a four-point lead throughout the entire set. The Bobcats pulled within one late, 23-22, but consecutive kills from Corrigan gave the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead.
 
The Bobcats defense stepped up in the second set to drop App State's hitting percentage to .239 with four blocks for the team and a seven-dig performance from Smith. The Mountaineers, though, still put down 15 kills to Texas State's 12, led by Vas Matt with four.
 
The second set was so close that the 25-20 final score was the largest lead of the set. In fact, neither team led by more than three points until 23-19. Texas State pulled within three late, 23-20, but Ashton Gregory and Keller put down back-to-back kills to take a 2-0 lead to the intermission for Appalachian State.
 
Texas State gave up a 4-0 run by the Mountaineers to start the third set, but tied the frame quickly with a 6-0 run that saw kills from Haley Henderson and Kirch along with an ace from Vas Matt, one of her three in the match. Texas State served six aces to just two for App State.
 
After the 6-0 run, Appalachian State called a timeout and scored out of the break, but the Bobcats pushed the run to 8-1 for an 8-5 lead behind consecutive kills from Henderson. The Mountaineers, however, absorbed Texas State's best stretch of play and tied it at 9-9. Once taking a 10-9 lead on the next volley, Appalachian State never relinquished the lead despite a late run from the Bobcats.
 
Texas State was down 24-18, but scored four consecutive points with scrappy play and two kills from Vas Matt. Unfortunately, at 24-22, Corrigan put down the final point of the match.