JONESBORO, Ark. – No. 13 Texas State (18-1, 13-0 Sun Belt) held Arkansas State (8-7, 8-7 Sun Belt) to an opponent season-low 18 kills in route to their fifth consecutive sweep (25-21, 25-18, 25-15) on Friday night at the First National Bank Arena.
 
The Bobcats kept the Red Wolves offense stagnant, holding them to a .000 hitting percentage, while hitting .225 behind 47 total kills. TXST also recorded 56 digs to A-State's 43, but the Red Wolves had 11 blocks in the match compared to the Bobcats' seven. Both teams had four aces.
 
"I am really proud of the defensive effort tonight," said Sean Huiet. "Kayla Granado set the tone for us defensively by digging out nine balls in the first set. That was big for us. Janell [Fitzgerald] carried us offensively and Emily DeWalt did a great job running the offense and holding the block, creating a lot of 1-on-1 situations for our hitters. We are playing well, but there are some things we can still clean up as we continue to push for our end of season run."
 
Junior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald torched Arkansas State with 18 kills and finished with a .382 hitting percentage. It is 10th time this season Fitzgerald has led the Bobcats in kills and she also had four blocks, including one solo. She was the only Bobcat to finish with double-digit kills. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Teske was next with nine kills and seven digs. Junior setter Emily DeWalt had 38 assists and eight digs. Junior middle blocker Jillian Slaughter also matched Fitzgerald's four blocks to lead the team, and junior libero Kayla Granado led the team with 16 digs.
 
Junior outside hitter Macey Putt led the team with five kills and had two digs and one block. Sophomore middle blocker Brianna Hollingshed had four kills and a match-high seven blocks, while junior setter Lauren Musante had a double-double with 12 assists and 11 digs, and also led the team with two aces. Junior libero Tatum Ticknor led the team with 12 digs.
 
Texas State now leads the all-time series 12-10 over Arkansas State.
 
Set 1
The Bobcats scored the first three points of the matches and led 10-9 before Arkansas State took its first lead of the match at 13-12, but the Bobcats grabbed a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. With the score tied at 17, Texas State went on a 7-1 run highlighted by a pair of 3-0 bursts to take a 24-18 lead and won the set 25-21. Fitzgerald led the team with seven kills and junior outside hitter Kenedi Rutherford followed with five kills.  
 
Set 2
Texas State jumped out to an early 7-3 margin and led 14-7, but a 7-0 run for Arkansas State tied the set at 14. The Bobcats slowly pulled away with a 6-0 run to go ahead 21-15 and closed out the set by scoring four of the final seven points for the 25-18 victory. Teske led the way with five kills on five swings and no errors.
 
Set 3
The Maroon and Gold jumped out to an 8-2 start that grew to a 14-5 lead prior to the media timeout. The Bobcats led by as many as 11 points in the set at 21-10 and cruised their way to a 10-point 25-15 victory. Fitzgerald dominated the frame with seven kills behind a .600 hitting percentage (7-1-10).
 
UP NEXT
Texas State and Arkansas State wrap-up the weekend series with a 1 p.m. match on Saturday. Nov. 7 at the First National Bank Arena.
 
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