CONWAY, S.C. – Texas State (17-7, 9-1 Sun Belt) answered the bell and knocked off Coastal Carolina (18-3, 8-1 Sun Belt) 3-1 (25-23, 27-29, 25-23, 25-18) Friday night at the HTC Center to improve its win streak to seven. The Bobcats move into first place of the Sun Belt Conference after handing the Chanticleers their first loss of the season in league play.
 
"It was another total team effort tonight," said head coach Karen Chisum. "Both teams had several runs throughout the match, but the biggest difference was our hitters. We had four finish in double figures and they only had two. [Lauren] Teske stepped up and did a great job tonight and Janell [Fitzgerald] was on fire. Cheyenne [Huskey] got rolling late and our two middles performed well on both sides of the net. This was a big one and I am proud of this group."
 
The Bobcats outhit the Chants .286-.212 in what was a back-and-forth battle all night. Texas State held the advantage in kills (61-51), assists (56-50), digs (55-45), and aces (6-4). The Bobcats' six aces marked the fifth consecutive match they have recorded six or more in a match.  With the win, Texas State evens the all-time series vs. Coastal Carolina at three games apiece and is on a three-match winning streak when playing head-to-head in regular-season contests.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald turned in 17 kills behind a .500 hitting percentage to lead the Bobcats. She also added three blocks and three digs in the win. Senior outside Cheyenne Huskey logged her third consecutive double-double with 14 kills and a team-high 13 digs, freshman outside Lauren Teske registered a career-high 14 kills (.379), and junior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott recorded 10 kills to round out the Bobcats' top hitters. Scott also led the Bobcats with four total blocks. Sophomore setter Emily DeWalt handed out a season-high 50 assists which is her fifth 50-plus assists performance in her career, and matched sophomore DS Kayla Granado for a match-high two aces. DeWalt finished with five digs, two kills, and two blocks, and Granado was second on the team with 12 digs. Junior libero Brooke Johnson also finished with double digits in digs at 10.  
 
Coastal's sophomore outside hitter Anett Nemeth got her numbers, recording 26 kills (.327) and 12 digs in the setback, and junior middle hitter Kyla Manning followed with 10 kills. Manning also had five digs, two blocks, and one ace. Freshman setter Brigitta Petrenko totaled 49 assists and matched DeWalt and Granado's two aces, while also finishing with nine digs and a team-best three blocks. Freshman libero Lina Perugini had a match-high 14 digs.
 
Set 1
The Bobcats won a tight opening set 25-23 after ending on a 4-2 run. The first set tallied five lead changes and although Coastal started with a 3-0 lead, back-to-back kills from Fitzgerald and an ace from DeWalt gave the set its only lead change of the frame at 6-4. Neither team led by more than three points in the set, and Huskey along with Fitzgerald paced the Cats with four kills apiece.
 
Set 2
The number of ties doubled from the first set halfway through the second stanza, but the Bobcats created separation as Fitzgerald's kill put the visitors ahead 15-12 to force Coastal's first timeout of the match. The Chanticleers pulled within one on multiple occasions and proceeded to tie the set six more times before closing on a 3-0 run to win it 29-27.
 
Set 3
Coastal Carolina jumped out to an 8-4 lead (the largest of the match at that time) and pressured Texas State to take an early timeout. The Bobcats responded with a 6-2 burst to tie the set at 11 and Fitzgerald landed another kill to give TXST a 12-11 advantage. Their lead would grow to 24-20 and despite a late 3-0 scoring run by Coastal, the Bobcats took a 2-1 match lead by winning the frame 25-23.
 
Set 4
Texas State opened the fourth set with three kills and led 7-2 before Coastal Carolina decided to use a timeout to stop the bleeding. However, the Bobcats' lead ballooned to as many as six points at 23-17 and sealed the set at 25-18.
 
The Bobcats will have a day off before challenging Appalachian State at 11:30 a.m. CT Oct. 27 at the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C.
 
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