LAFAYETTE, La. – The Texas State volleyball team defeated Louisiana 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-20) Saturday night inside Earl K. Long Gym in the regular-season finale for both teams.
 
The Bobcats (20-11, 13-3 SBC) reached the 20-win plateau for the 23rd time in the Karen Chisum era, while the Ragin' Cajuns (10-21, 6-10 SBC) saw their season come to a close.
 
Senior Shelby Vas Matt registered the 32nd double-double of her career after finishing with 14 digs and 12 kills. Junior Jaliyah Bolden led both teams with 13 kills, and junior Erin Hoppe commanded the offense with 31 assists. Freshman Micah Dinwiddie led the defense with 16 digs.
 
Texas State laid claim to the opening set by a 25-21 margin. The Ragin' Cajuns were initially able to build a 15-11 lead, but the Bobcats rattled off eight of the next nine points to secure a firm grip of the frame. The visitors made sure to close on a high note after Louisiana got within two at 22-20.
 
The Bobcats secured the second set 25-19 as they stretched their grip on the match to 2-0 overall. The maroon and gold carried the momentum over from the first set to an 11-4 advantage in the second, but ULL battled back and climbed within two points at 20-18. Five consecutive kills by Texas State cleaned up the frame, and the visitors headed into intermission with the dominant lead.
 
The third set went in favor of the visiting team as the Bobcats were able to earn the sweep. They initially found themselves locked in a 6-6 tie, but they then powered ahead to a 13-10 lead that eventually ballooned to a comfortable 20-12 margin. ULL pushed back within four at 21-17, but the visitors earned the four necessary sideouts the rest of the way to collect the victory.
 
Nia Antoine led Louisiana with seven kills. Jessica Bartczyszyn had 23 assists, and Sydney Davis posted 14 digs.
 
Texas State improved to 13-0 all-time against Louisiana. The maroon and gold led Saturday's match in all major categories, including kills (46-25), hitting percentage (.200-.071), assists (44-24), digs (53-50), blocks (7-6), and service aces (3-0).
 
The Bobcats are now set to venture to Arlington, Texas, Nov. 18-20 for the 2016 SBC Championship. The maroon and gold will be the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 South Alabama in the opening round. The official brackets will be released Sunday afternoon.
 
TEXAS STATE COACH KAREN CHISUM
Opening statement…
"I'm extremely proud of this group of young ladies. A 20-win season is really good. That's one of my measuring sticks on the success of my seasons. It's always a goal to have 20 wins. On top of that, we are the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. I was very glad to see Shelby (Vas Matt) play well these past two matches. Her season has been up and down with injuries, but she's a big senior for us. She got a big double-double for us tonight. We never got into a good rhythm tonight. There were times when I thought we looked great, but the next thing you knew we had three or four hitting errors. We had too many errors tonight. Overall, I'm happy we were able to get two wins on the road these last two days. These last two weekends have been long road trips."
 
On what it will take to win the Sun Belt Championship…
"Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we have to take care of the team physically and mentally. We need to get them ready for our next opponent. Once we get to Arlington, we'll see. It's a three-day tournament. If you win, you move on. If you lose, you go home. The two teams above us (Coastal Carolina and Arkansas State) have been pretty good all season long. The other five teams are capable of winning on any given night. What it takes for us to win, first and foremost, is confidence. But also our passing has to be great. When we pass well, we've got a lot of offense. Jaliyah (Bolden) is one of the best hitters in this conference when we can get the ball to her. It's going to take teamwork and comradery. We're going to have to be good, because all the other teams have a lot of offense. We've got to have some luck on our side, and we're going to have to play the best we possibly can.
 
-TxStateBobcats.com-