JONESBORO, Ark. – The Texas State volleyball team defeated Louisiana 3-1 (25-16, 18-25, 25-22, 25-14) in the semifinals of the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Championship Saturday night inside Convocation Center.
 
The No. 2-seeded Bobcats (24-8) advanced to the title match and will now face either top seed Coastal Carolina or No. 4 seed and host Arkansas State for the league crown at 2 p.m. Nov. 19. This will mark Texas State's first trip to the finals since 2014. The maroon and gold are seeking their first conference championship since 2013.
 
Sophomores Amy Pflughaupt (19 digs, 17 kills) and Megan Porter (22 digs, 12 kills) led the Bobcats with a pair of double-doubles, while senior Jaliyah Bolden tallied 13 kills on a .310 hitting percentage. Fellow senior Erin Hoppe filled the stat sheet with 50 assists, seven digs, six kills (.455 percentage) and a career-high five blocks. The sophomore tandem of Micah Dinwiddie (29) and Mattie Adams (10) both added double-figure digs.
 
Texas State initially went on top by claiming the opening set 25-16. The Bobcats found an early 10-5 lead that swelled to 20-10. They were able to maintain the margin through the final moments of the frame.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, countered with a 25-18 second-set victory of their own to even the night at one game each. UL inched ahead at 11-8 and stayed up by that margin until the Bobcats got within two at 17-15. Louisiana then closed on an 8-3 run to finish off the period.
 
TXST swung momentum back in its favor by capturing the third 25-22. A kill by junior Madison Daigle gave the Bobcats a 14-13 advantage, and they never trailed again. They opened up a five-point cushion at 21-16 that proved to be enough breathing room to fend off a late rally.
 
Texas State looked to run away from Louisiana in the fourth period after racing out to a 5-0 lead, but the Ragin' Cajuns scored four-straight of their own to stay close. That final run would prove to be the last gasp for UL. The Bobcats grew their lead out to 13-7 and went on to claim a 20-12 advantage. They were able to coast the rest of the way to win the final frame 25-14.
 
Hali Wisnoskie paced Louisiana (21-11) with 12 kills, while Stacey Reilly added 10. Jessica Bartczyszyn had 35 assists and 11 digs, while Sydney Davis added 28 digs. The duo of Avery Breaux (14) and Lexi Hebert (12) added double-digit digs.
 
TXST led the night in kills (64-40), attack percentage (.221-.114), assists (62-39) and digs (95-78). UL led in aces (3-1) and blocks (14-6).
 
TEXAS STATE COACH KAREN CHISUM
Opening statement…
"Hats off to Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns are very scrappy. I'm proud of my team, even though I don't think that's the best we've played this season. We had a hard time connecting with our middle blockers, but our two outsides and pin hitters took care of business. Louisiana was scrappy, but we were almost a little scrappier. If you look at the digs, we're almost at 100. I'm very proud of this group. I said early in the season that I didn't know what to expect from this team. To be in the finals of the Sun Belt Conference, I can't be happier."
 
On Megan Porter and Amy Pflughaupt…
"They've kept us in a lot of ballgames this year. We are lucky that Amy Pflughaupt came to Texas State. We're glad to have her. She really added some depth. We would have been in a little bit of a bind without her. Megan has grown tremendously since her freshman year. Those two players play full rotations and they've been pretty consistent. I can't say enough about those two. We're going to need them even more tomorrow. I'm also going to mention one of our seniors, Jaliyah Bolden. She was a little inconsistent, but she really had some dominant kills that sparked us and gave us that momentum we needed."
 
On playing in the conference finals for the first time since 2014…
"I've missed (playing in the championship match). I'm competitive. I want to be here every year. This is Erin (Hoppe) and Jaliyah's (Bolden) senior year. They haven't earned a ring yet. For them, if nothing else, I hope badly that we can take care of business tomorrow. I want Texas State to be at the top in any sport, but particularly in volleyball. I'm really excited to be back in the finals after losing in the semifinals the last two years."
 
On facing Coastal Carolina or Arkansas State…
"I know Arkansas State a whole lot better. It seems like years ago since we've played Coastal Carolina. When we went over there (and defeated CCU 3-0 on Oct. 1), we played probably as good as we could. They're a lot better now than they were back then. I'm anxious to watch (the semifinal between CCU and A-State). It should be a good one. Either way, we have to slow down either Leah Hardeman or Carlisa May. They've got two very dominating outside hitters. It's going to come down to what we do on our side of the net."

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