SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team defeated ULM 3-1 (25-12, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22) Saturday night in a Sun Belt Conference match inside Strahan Coliseum.
 
The Bobcats (18-9, 11-1 SBC) were playing their final home match of the season, and they honored their seven seniors (Ali Hubicsak, Lauren Kirch, Morgan Lewis, Emily Shelton, Alex Silver, Shelby Vas Matt, and Kelsey Weynand) prior to the contest as part of the Senior Day festivities.
 
TXST also ran its win streak to nine-straight victories, and the maroon and gold closed out the month of October with a perfect 9-0 mark.
 
All seven seniors comprised the starting lineup in Saturday's triumph. Kirch finished with a match-high 15 kills on just 30 swings for a .367 attack percentage, while Weynand posted 14 kills and nine digs. Shelton distributed a career-high 40 assists and registered her third career double-double after adding 11 digs. Freshman Micah Dinwiddie played just two sets but tallied a match-high 20 digs.
 
The first set was all Texas State, as the Bobcats cruised to a comfortable 25-12 triumph. ULM was undeterred and came out strong in the second set. The visiting side was able to stay even at 14-14, but TXST built a 21-16 lead. All looked well for the Bobcats as they pushed their lead to 23-19, but the Warhawks rattled off six-straight points to earn the 25-23 set win.
 
Texas State got its rhythm back in the third and surged to a 17-11 advantage before ascending to a 25-21 victory.
 
The home team clinched the match in four sets after taking the final frame 25-22. ULM fought to a 17-15 lead, but Texas State tied proceedings at 18-18 and scored five of the final seven points to secure the win.
 
No member of the visiting side was able to reach the double-digit kill plateau. Kaitlyn Shearer got closest with nine, while Tara Jenkins tallied 22 assists and 11 digs. Hope Pawlik contributed 20 digs and Albany Schaffer added 11.
 
The Bobcats led the way in hitting percentage (.195-.040), total kills (56-33), aces (6-4) and assists (53-26). The maroon and gold also improved to 39-2 all-time against the Warhawks, who dropped to 8-21 overall and 2-9 in SBC play.
 
Texas State will be on the road for its final four matches of the season, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. battle Nov. 4 against Little Rock in Little Rock, Arkansas.
 
TEXAS STATE COACH KAREN CHISUM
Opening statement…
"I'm really proud of our team because they were able to win on our Senior Night. We were able to start all seven seniors who we are going to miss a lot next year. We started very strong but then we kind of lost our rhythm. ULM also picked it up in the second. I'm glad to get out of this alive. We, again, had a great crowd. I appreciate the people of San Marcos and the Texas State fans coming out and supporting us."
 
On Lauren Kirch…
"I can tell you I wish she wasn't graduating. She hit .367 tonight and half of her attacks went for kills. That's excellent. Jaliyah (Bolden) started slow but was able to get herself back into the game. She's crucial to us, but I was able to play a lot of our players tonight. Early in the first few sets I was able to give Alex Silver some playing time at the libero position before putting Micah (Dinwiddie) into the match. Micah had 20 digs in her two sets, which is excellent. I'm really proud of this group of players. I really needed to play a lot of players tonight, which hurt our rhythm a little, but we will be ready when we get to Arkansas next week."
 
On how the team continues to fight through adversity…
"At a timeout whenever we are behind, I don't have to say much because Morgan Lewis is one of the vocal leaders. She takes control of her teammates. It's not so much about the x's and o's, it's about staying confident and telling her teammates that they are going to win."
 
On the last home match…
"I can tell you I'm one of the luckiest people in the world. I've been here for 37 years as the head coach. The fan base and fan support continues to increase every year. The people in San Marcos and Texas State love volleyball and I love that. I'm just a lucky individual getting to be the head coach at Texas State University. But it's all about our team. It's not about anything I do on the bench, it's what the players do on the court. We have great athletes who are great in the classroom, community and on the court. I will definitely will miss these seven seniors."
 
-TxStateBobcats.com-