SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team defeated Arkansas State 3-0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-20) Friday night in Sun Belt Conference action inside Strahan Coliseum.
 
The Red Wolves (17-10, 10-4 SBC) had their seven-match win streak halted, which was bookended by a pair of shutout losses to the Bobcats (19-8, 10-2 SBC). This marked the first time since 2014 (Little Rock) that A-State suffered multiple 3-0 setbacks to the same opponent in one season.
 
TXST utilized a balanced attack that was led by sophomores Amy Pflughaupt (13 digs, 11 kills) and Megan Porter (12 digs, 11 kills). Junior Madison Daigle supplied 13 kills with no errors on 21 swings for a career-best .619 attack percentage. Sophomores Micah Dinwiddie (13) and Mattie Adams (12) had big nights on the back row with double-digit digs, while senior Erin Hoppe had a match-best 45 assists.
 
Texas State ran away from the Red Wolves in the opening set, claiming a swift 25-13 victory. Arkansas State found itself trailing just 9-8 at one point, but a 13-2 run would be all the Bobcats needed to shock their opponents early.
 
The second set also went in favor of the maroon and gold, but A-State made the home team work for every point. TXST played to a 20-16 advantage and looked to be well on its way to victory, but the visitors climbed back to equalize at 20-20 and later play to a 24-24 standstill. The Bobcats didn't falter, however, as back-to-back kills from Daigle and Porter sent their side into intermission with a dominant 2-0 advantage.
 
Texas State went ahead 16-10 in the third, and the remainder of the period was never in doubt as the Bobcats closed out Arkansas State in straight sets.
 
Four-time SBC Offensive Player of the Week Carlisa May finished with a team-best 10 kills, but she also needed a whopping 35 swings and posted five errors for a paltry .143 attack percentage. Drew Jones also committed five errors on 35 attempts, but she had just eight kills to finish with a .086 hitting percentage. Ellie Watkins, the SBC's top setter statistically at 11.5 assists per set, had just 8.3 assists per set (25 total) against the Bobcats. Tatum Ticknor tallied a match-high 16 digs.
 
Texas State led the way in kills (49-33), attack percentage (.293-.161), assists (47-30), aces (2-0), and digs (62-44). A-State held a narrow 5-4 margin in blocks, but the 33 kills from the visitors was a season low.
 
Texas State is set to continue a stretch of three matches in four days when the maroon and gold welcomes Little Rock into Strahan Coliseum at noon Nov. 5.
 
TEXAS STATE COACH KAREN CHISUM
Statement…
"This was a complete effort tonight. This team isn't just about Amy (Pflughaupt), it's not just about Jaliyah (Bolden), it's not just about Madison (Daigle) or Megan (Porter). This is a complete team, and that's what's been fun about the success we've had so far this season. Tonight may have been one of the proudest moments I've had with this team. We've struggled all week in practice. After our loss to Louisiana (last Saturday), they had a really hard time focusing and getting their energy back up. We got better as the week went on, but I can't say enough about how well they played tonight. Erin Hoppe did a nice job. Madison Daigle was on fire. I have to say hats off to my associate head coach Tracy Smith. She only wanted to work on blocking this week. You might not be able to see it in the numbers, but we did a great job channeling the ball to our defensive players. We outdug (Arkansas State) 62-44. That was a big difference."
 
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