SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team wrapped up a perfect weekend at home by knocking off Abilene Christian 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 25-16) Saturday night inside Strahan Arena.
 
The triumph gave the Bobcats (4-3) an unblemished 4-0 record and a championship-winning performance in the 2018 Creeds & Crests Classic. The Wildcats (2-6) finished 0-3 in the event to finish fourth overall. Full results can be found below.

The tournament title was the first trophy won by the maroon and gold since 2015, when the Bobcats also captured their home championship early in the campaign.
 
True freshman Emily DeWalt steered the Texas State offense with 44 assists and 13 digs. She also filled up the stat sheet with five kills, three blocks and three service aces. She recorded double-doubles in all four matches and was named tournament MVP for her efforts.
 
Senior Madison Daigle had match highs in both kills (14) and blocks (8). She had just one error on 27 swings to finish with a .481 attack percentage. True freshman Janell Fitzgerald added 12 kills of her own. Both Daigle and Fitzgerald were named to the all-tournament team. Junior Micah Dinwiddie finished with a match-high 32 digs. Sophomore Brooke Johnson (14) and junior Cheyenne Huskey (10) also reached double figures in digs.
 
Katelyn Mueller (13 digs, 12 kills) and Jacey Smith (16 digs, 10 kills) both tallied double-doubles for Abilene Christian. Kendall Bosse distributed 39 assists, Lillian Drever added 18 digs and Marybeth Sandercox posted 12 kills in the losing effort.
 
TXST finished the evening leading in kills (60-46), attack percentage (.229-.138), assists (60-43), aces (9-4), and digs (85-65). ACU led in blocks (13-11).
 
SET 1
The initial period looked to be over early after Texas State began the evening on an 8-0 run. Abilene Christian scratched back into the frame, however, without needing a timeout. The visitors used a 14-7 surge to get within one at 21-20, but they ran out of juice as the Bobcats finished off the period on a final 4-0 spurt.
 
SET 2
The Wildcats got on the board with a 25-22 second-set triumph. Despite posting a 0-3 record on the weekend, they picked up one set in all three matches. The maroon and gold went on top 16-11 midway through the frame but gave up the lead thanks to a 7-2 run from the visitors. Abilene Christian used the momentum to turn a 20-20 standstill into the final set score.
 
SET 3
ACU came out on a 4-0 run in the third, but the lead quickly vanished when the home side went ahead 10-6. Texas State stretched its advantage out to 17-11 and the Wildcats never got closer than four points the rest of the way. The Bobcats won the third 25-18.
 
SET 4
Texas State ended the evening by capturing the fourth period 25-16. Despite the most lopsided scoreline of the match, the frame actually saw the most ties (7) and lead changes (5). The final draw came at 10-10, and it was TXST who used a 5-1 run to obtain a modicum of breathing room. ACU remained within two at 15-13 until a final 10-3 outburst shut the door on the match.
 
Texas State continued its dominance over Abilene Christian, improving to 13-0 all-time over the Wildcats. The contest was just the second against ACU since 1983, with the only other meeting in the last 35 years coming in 2014.
 
Next up for the Bobcats will be a road trip to Houston. They are set to take on Rice at 6 p.m. Sept. 4 in a rematch of last year's opening-round contest in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
 
2018 CREEDS & CRESTS CLASSIC FINAL STANDINGS
1.            Texas State (4-0)
2.            UTSA (2-1) – won tiebreaker over JMU
3.            James Madison (2-1)
4.            Abilene Christian (0-3) – won tiebreaker over UIW
5.            Incarnate Word (0-3)
 
2018 CREEDS & CRESTS CLASSIC MVP
Emily DeWalt, Fr., S, Texas State
 
2018 CREEDS & CRESTS CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Madison Daigle, Sr., MB, Texas State
Janell Fitzgerald, Fr., OH, Texas State
Kirby Smith, Fr., OH, UTSA
Shelby Williams, Sr., DS, UTSA
Sarah Martin, Jr., S, James Madison
M'Kaela White, Jr., MB, James Madison
 
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