SAN MARCOS, Texas – A season-high .440 hitting percentage led the Texas State volleyball team to its third sweep in the last five matches as they dominated ULM (25-13, 25-17, 25-19 Sunday afternoon at Strahan Arena. The Bobcats move to 10-6 on the year and take first place in the west division of the Sun Belt Conference after a 2-0 opening weekend.
 
"Anytime you hit a .440 you are going to win," said head coach Karen Chisum. "We passed very well, and our hitters were smart. To get to 2-0 is big right now. We lead the west side of the division and now we go on the road with high confidence. Our preseason schedule was really tough and although there were games we were not good; these kids are ready to face whoever we put out in front of them now."
 
The Bobcats controlled the match as they trailed just two times and outplayed the Warhawks (9-7, 0-2) by registering more kills (48-32), assists (43-28), aces (7-3), digs (40-31), and a slight 5-4 advantage in blocks. TXST also kept ULM's offense in check as they failed to have one player record double-digit kills.
 
Texas State has now swept six of seven conference-opening weekends since joining the Sun Belt in 2013 and extends a number of streaks that includes a 24-0 home record vs. ULM, 14 consecutive wins vs. ULM in the all-time series, and five-straight victories at home in the 2019 season. The Bobcats improve to 45-2 all-time in head-to-head matches vs. the Warhawks.
 
Senior O1 Cheyenne Huskey continued her weekend dominance as she landed a match-high 14 kills on 30 attacks with just one error (.433). Huskey finished with eight digs, one ace and one block. Sophomore Janell Fitzgerald completed the 1-2 punch with 10 kills and a .389 clip, and also had one block. Sophomore setter Emily DeWalt turned in her second double-double of the weekend by collecting 41 assists and a match-high 10 digs to go along with three kills, one ace, and one block. Junior Tyeranee Scott led the team with three blocks including one solo block to end the match, and also put up nine kills. Other contributors for the Maroon and Gold were sophomore DS Kayla Granado who led all players with four aces, and senior DS Micah Dinwiddie who also had eight digs.  
 
Senior outside hitter Mikaela Worley led ULM with eight kills, followed by junior outside Ina Gosen who had seven kills, one ace and one block in the loss. Freshman setter Darby Fisher and sophomore setter McKinley Thiede had 14 and 12, assists, respectively, and both finished with one ace. Sophomore Kate Blasingame had 10 digs and two blocks but was held at bay offensively as she finished with a .-043 attacking percentage and four kills. Junior middle blocker Alix Christie led the team with three blocks.
 
Set 1
The Bobcats clicked on all cylinders offensively as they ended the frame with a .471 hitting percentage with 17 kills on 34 swings and one error. Texas State opened the set with a 7-2 lead that grew 17-8 to force ULM to burn its second timeout. The Bobcats continued to roll and built a margin as large as 13 (22-9) and ultimately cruised to a 25-13 win.
 
Set 2
Texas State had a 10-4 advantage, but ULM battled back and went into the media timeout down 15-12. Following the break, the Bobcats scored three of the next four points to pressure the Warhawks into a timeout, but the home team proceeded to outscore their opponent 7-4 and win the stanza 25-13. TXST hit .483 in the set and recorded an 82-percent sideout rate.
 
Set 3
The third set saw 10 ties but no lead changes as ULM went into the media timeout with a 15-13 lead in hand. Freshman outside hitter Courtney Heiser turned in her seventh kill of the night that sparked a Bobcat 6-0 run, including an Omaha strike from Huskey to give the home team a lead that they would not relinquish again. Texas State won the set 25-19 to seal the match.
 
The Bobcats move forward in conference play and will travel to Arkansas next weekend for a 6:30 p.m. match vs. Arkansas State (Oct. 4) at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro, followed by a 6:30 p.m. match vs. Little Rock (Oct. 5) at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
 
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