SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team registered a 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-17) victory over rival UTA in a Sun Belt Conference showdown Friday night inside Strahan Coliseum.
 
The triumph was the seventh in a row for the Bobcats (15-7, 6-1 SBC), who also tallied their 10th consecutive win over the Mavericks (8-12, 2-5 SBC) at home. The maroon and gold have swept each of their last six league bouts, which remains the longest such streak since 2000.
 
Sophomore Amy Pflughaupt ended the evening with her sixth double-double of the campaign after tallying 10 kills and 10 digs. Fellow sophomore Megan Porter had a match-high 12 kills to go along with seven digs, while setting a new career high with three service aces. Senior Jaliyah Bolden compiled 10 kills, sophomore Micah Dinwiddie anchored the backline with a season best three-set total of 22 digs, and senior Erin Hoppe piloted the offense with 29 assists.
 
The first set was captured by Texas State 25-19 after the maroon and gold closed the frame on a 7-1 run. The two sides breezed through the majority of the game, with neither squad able to swing ahead by more than three points. There was only one lead change, but the first period saw eight ties. The final draw came at 18-18. Porter then proceeded to serve out the next six points, with the final tally coming by way of a Bolden kill.
 
UTA quickly raced out to a 4-1 lead in the second set, but Texas State flipped the momentum to pull ahead 10-6. TXST later found a 20-14 advantage, but the Mavericks climbed back into a narrow 22-20 deficit. The home side survived the second-set scare, however, to claim the set 25-21.

The third frame was never in doubt as Texas State wrapped up the straight-set victory over its rivals. The Bobcats turned a narrow 12-10 advantage into a 19-12 lead that eventually led to the eight-point triumph.
 
No Maverick reached double-digit kills. The visitors were led by nine kills and eight digs from Kylie Jedlicka. Haley Higgins and Madison Helt had 12 assists each, and Libbie Vickers posted 18 digs. All-conference performers Qiana Canete and Zhanelle Geathers were held to just 13 combined kills and nine errors on 57 swings.
 
The Bobcats led in kills (48-30), attack percentage (.272-.168), assists (46-28), service aces (4-1), and digs (57-41). UTA had a match high in blocks (5-3).
 
Texas State will remain home for a pair of matches next weekend against the Sun Belt schools hailing from Georgia. First up will be a 6:30 p.m. contest Oct. 20 against Georgia Southern. The two-day ledger will conclude with a match against Georgia State at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 21.
 
TEXAS STATE COACH KAREN CHISUM
Opening Statement…
"We needed a match like this, because we're not always going to be perfect. We had that kind of slump tonight. Fortunately, we were at home and we were able to take care of business. I was disappointed with our blocking. (UTA) outblocked us 5-3, and that should not have happened. Micah (Dinwiddie) did a great job on the backline. We struggled passing the ball overall and getting it to the middle. That was our game plan, but overall I'm going to take the win. What's nice is now we have four days of practice before we have to play again. We get a whole weekend off, and we don't have to travel next week either."
 
On altering the serve patterns…
"We have been unhappy with our serving stats lately. Micah and Megan (Porter) were both struggling a little bit. Jaliyah (Bolden) and Tyeranee (Scott) have both served well in practice. They're inconsistent, but they're going to attack the opponents with their serve. We thought it would be a good match to give them a chance to see what they could do. Tyeranee, particularly, did a great job. We're going to keep playing with that. We'll get Mattie (Adams) back into the rotation. We're just looking for the right combination to give us a good, consistent, tough serve to keep our opponents out of their offense."
 
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