Texas State Athletics

MONROE, La. – The Texas State volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-20, 25-5, 25-21) victory over ULM Friday night inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
The Bobcats improved to 19-11 overall and 12-3 in Sun Belt Conference action, while the Warhawks dropped to 9-24 on the year and 3-12 in league play.
 
Three members of the road team finished with at least eight kills, led by 10 from junior Jaliyah Bolden. Senior Morgan Lewis posted a .600 attack percentage and finished with nine kills and no errors on 15 swings. She also added four digs and a team-high five blocks. Senior Shelby Vas Matt added 11 digs and eight kills, while senior Kelsey Weynand contributed 10 digs. Junior Erin Hoppe paced the offense with 25 assists, and freshman Micah Dinwiddie powered the backline with 16 digs.
 
ULM built an early 7-5 lead in the opening set and was able to stay within one point through the middle section of the frame. Texas State moved ahead by a narrow 13-12 margin but used an 8-2 run to power ahead 21-14. The Warhawks got back within two at 22-20, but they would not score again as the Bobcats held on for the five-point first set triumph.
 
The second set was all Texas State, as the maroon and gold cruised to a 25-5 victory. The visitors initially led 11-4 but busted the set open with a 9-0 run. The Bobcats used the 20-4 lead to cruise to the 20-point win.
 
ULM would not go down quietly. The home team played a stellar third set and was able to stay tied with TXST at 18-18. In the end, Texas State proved too much as the Bobcats closed on a 7-3 run to secure the final set 25-21. The victory was punctuated by an ace from Vas Matt.
 
No Warhawk reached double figures in kills. Sarah Woods led the way with seven for the home team. Tara Jenkins added 14 assists and Kacey LeBlanc had a match-high 17 digs.
 
Texas State led ULM in kills (40-24), attack percentage (.316-.089), service aces (10-5) digs (56-43), and blocks (6-4).
 
The Bobcats improved to 40-2 all-time against ULM.
 
Texas State is now set to close out the regular season with a road match at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 12 against UL Lafayette in Lafayette, Louisiana. Following that tilt, the Bobcats will then head to Arlington, Texas, for the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Championship. The maroon and gold have already secured the No. 3 seed in the tournament, which will be contested Nov. 18-20 in College Park Center.
 
TEXAS STATE COACH KAREN CHISUM
Opening statement…
"It's nice to get back on the winning track and have a dominant performance like we did tonight. Morgan Lewis brought a lot of energy tonight. She had one of her best matches for us. She's a great leader. She's got high energy. We passed really well those first two games. Erin Hoppe had a great match tonight. We ran it quick. Jaliyah Bolden had 10 kills, and her three errors all came late in that third set. It was good Emily Shelton play as well as she did when she got into the match. I'm very comfortable with both setters. Micah Dinwiddie started slow but picked up it late when we needed her. It was nice to see the players excited about their performance, especially leading into tomorrow. We know tomorrow is going to be tough. Louisiana took us to five sets the last match. They are a feisty team."
 
On winning the second set 25-5…
"We served tough in that set. We played really well, and (ULM) didn't play as well as we know they can. I'm going to give it to my team though. They really brought it in that set. Seven aces in a set is pretty darn good."

-TxStateBobcats.com-