ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team defeated UT Arlington 3-1 (21-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-20) Thursday night inside College Park Center.
 
The Bobcats (13-9, 6-1 SBC) have now won four-straight matches, while the Mavericks dropped to 10-12 overall and 4-3 in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
Four members of the team registered double-digit kills, led by 13 from senior Kelsey Weynand. Junior Jaliyah Bolden and freshman Megan Porter blasted 12 each, and senior Lauren Kirch added 11 kills and seven blocks. Junior Erin Hoppe had 49 assists, and freshman Micah Dinwiddie led the defense with a career-high 31 digs. Dinwiddie's dig total was the most recorded in four sets by a Texas State volleyball player since Kacey Wimpy tallied 32 against Sam Houston State on Nov. 9, 2007.
 
UTA used the home crowd to gain the early advantage, winning the first set by a narrow 25-21 margin. TXST was able to play to a 19-19 tie, but the Mavericks won six of the last eight points to close out the opening game.
 
The early momentum was quickly halted by the maroon and gold, as the Bobcats jumped on top 11-3 in the second set and powered to a 20-9 advantage. Texas State would not allow the home side to get into the set, winning 25-15.
 
Coming out of the intermission was more of the same, as Texas State powered ahead 10-5 and never looked back. The visitors pushed their lead out to as much as nine points and held on for the 25-18 triumph.
 
The final set was much closer, but the end result was identical to the second and third sets as TXST closed out the match 25-20.
 
Qiana Canete was the lone member of the home team with double-digit kills, as she finished with a match-high 15 while adding 13 digs. Cassidy Wheeler tallied 27 assists and 11 digs, and Taylor Murata had 11 digs.
 
Texas State led the way in kills (55-41), attack percentage (.229-.099), blocks (12-8) and service aces (8-1).
 
The Bobcats are now set to take a swing through Georgia next weekend, beginning with a 6 p.m. contest Oct. 21 against Georgia State in Atlanta. They will then head over to Statesboro to face Georgia Southern at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22.
 
TEXAS STATE COACH KAREN CHISUM
Opening statement…
"To get out of College Park Center with a win is big. It's always hard to play up here. I think our team stayed composed tonight. We started a little slow and UTA wanted it badly, I thought. We had a little discussion after that first set. Our blocking picked up and our offense picked up. I was really pleased, particularly with sets two and three. We had way too many service errors, but other than that we played very well. We may not have been at our very best, but we played confidently and never got upset. We never lost our cool. The team really believes in themselves right now. To leave here 6-1 (in the conference) and to get a few days off is huge. Monday we'll come back in and start thinking about Georgia State and Georgia Southern."
 
On the play of Micah Dinwiddie and the frontline…
"(Micah) had an amazing night going off for a career-high 31 digs. We distributed the ball extremely well. That was great. When we distribute the ball evenly, we can have a very good offense. We had four hitters who had 36 (Megan Porter), 34 (Jaliyah Bolden), 33 (Kelsey Weynand) and 26 (Lauren Kirch) attacks. Hats off to Erin Hoppe for distributing the ball well. We also passed well and dug the ball really well tonight. Defensively we did a good job."
 
-TxStateBobcats.com-