WACO, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team ended the Jason's Deli Baylor Classic with a 3-1 loss (17-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-15) to St. John's Saturday night inside Ferrell Center.
The Bobcats (8-6) succumbed to defeat for the third-straight time, while the Johnnies (8-6) claimed the first meeting in school history between the two programs.
Sophomore
Amy Pflughaupt paced the maroon and gold with a match-high 18 kills, while classmate
Megan Porter added 14 digs. True freshman
Brooke Johnson tallied 23 assists and 11 digs, while senior
Erin Hoppe dished out 19 assists. Sophomore
Micah Dinwiddie led the back row with 18 digs. She totaled 56 throughout the three-match event and was named to the All-Tournament Team as the Best Defender.
Texas State won the opening game 25-17, giving the Bobcats first-set triumphs in all three matches in the tournament. The key stretch came when they were able to turn a 10-9 lead into a 16-11 advantage. STJ climbed back to within one at 16-15, but the maroon and gold snatched nine of the last 11 points.
St. John's flipped the script for the remainder of the match, winning each of the final three periods. In the second, the Red Storm was able to turn an 11-11 deadlock into a 20-14 advantage before chopping up the final 10 points for the 25-19 victory.
The third was tight throughout, featuring 12 ties and six lead changes. TXST was able to play into a 22-22 draw, but STJ secured three vital points down the stretch to take a 2-1 lead overall.
Texas State could never muster a comeback in the fourth, as St. John's closed out the match 25-15. The Johnnies led 3-0 and then 8-3. TXST got within five at 15-10 but would not be able to narrow the gap further.
Jordan McCalla led STJ with 15 kills, while Julia Cast added 14 and Hanna Wagner posted 11. Erica Di Maulo dished out 47 assists, and Delaney D'Amore (28) and Amanda Sanabia (11) both had double-figure digs.
St. John's had match highs in kills (56-54), hitting percentage (.239-.194), assists (52-51), digs (67-55), and blocks (12-9). Both teams finished with a trio of aces.
Texas State is now set to open Sun Belt Conference action at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 22 against South Alabama inside Strahan Coliseum.
All-Tournament Team:
Best Attacker: Marijeta Runjic, UTSA
Best Blocker: Shelly Fanning, Baylor
Best Setter: Delaney D'Amore, St. John's
Best Defender: Micah Dinwiddie, Texas State
MVP: Katie Staiger
-- TXSTATEBOBCATS.COM --
