SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team came from two sets down to defeat UT Arlington 3-2 (20-25, 22-25, 25-10, 25-21, 15-8) in a Sun Belt Conference match Tuesday night inside Strahan Arena.
 
The Bobcats (14-5, 5-0) finished their first trip through the Sun Belt West Division unscathed and have now won nine-consecutive matches, while the Mavericks (9-6, 3-2) lost two of their first five league bouts.

The victory gives TXST Coach Karen Chisum 882 for her storied career. She moved into a tie with former UC Santa Barbara coach Kathy Gregory (1975-2012) for 10th all-time in NCAA Division I history.
 
True freshman Sarabi Worsley-Gilbert led the maroon and gold with 18 kills, while senior Madison Daigle added 14 kills and eight blocks to the winning cause. True freshman Emily DeWalt had a monster double-double with 49 assists and 22 digs. The newly-named Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week now leads the Sun Belt with 12 double-doubles this season. Junior Micah Dinwiddie (17), true freshman Kayla Granado (11) and sophomore Brooke Johnson (10) all tallied double-digit digs.
 
Zhanelle Geathers paced the visitors with 18 kills, while Madison Hill chipped in 10. Alex Janak doubled up with 26 assists and 12 digs, while Kylee Kapp registered 18 assists and Madelyn St. Germain tallied 15 digs.
 
Texas State led the evening in kills (63-55), attack percentage (.276-.202), assists (60-54), aces (10-3), digs (78-63), and blocks (10-7).

SET 1
UTA took advantage of a Bobcat squad that came out of the blocks sluggish. The two teams played to a 7-7 tie, but the Mavericks went on top 15-8 thanks to a massive 8-1 run. TXST got within four at 20-16 but ran out of steam as the visitors took the opener 25-20. This marked the first time in 10 matches that the maroon and gold lost the first set (Texas, Sept. 6).
 
SET 2
The Bobcats picked up the tempo in the second and raced out to a 10-5 lead, but UTA whittled the deficit down until landing on a 15-15 draw. The Mavericks turned a 17-17 deadlock into a 20-17 advantage and were able to cling to the lead the rest of the way. Texas State pulled within one at 21-20 but again ran out of gas. UTA went into the break on top 2-0 after winning the second 25-22.
 
SET 3
The rally began in style as Texas State dominated the third period 25-10. They burst out of the locker room into a 12-3 lead and never looked back. The closest the visitors would get in the frame from that point on was seven points.
 
SET 4
The home side sent the night into a decisive fifth set after winning the fourth 25-21. UTA initially played into a 10-6 lead, but that advantage was quickly erased by the Bobcats. They came back to notch proceedings at 11-11 and scored five straight at one point to push ahead 19-14. The surge would prove to be enough to allow Texas State to polish off the set.
 
SET 5
The fifth went in favor of the maroon and gold by a 15-8 margin. Texas State initially jumped on top 7-3 and maintained no worse than a three-point cushion the rest of the way. UTA got within three at 9-6, but the Bobcats found a way to clinch the finale by winning five of the final seven points.
 
This is the second-straight meeting that Texas State has come from two sets down to defeat UTA. The Mavericks still lead the all-time series 41-38, but TXST has won the last seven meetings and 17 of the last 19.
 
Next up for Texas State will be a road trip to Georgia. The Bobcats will face Georgia Southern at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 5 in Statesboro, Ga., and will match up with Georgia State at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 6 in Atlanta.
 
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