NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The highly anticipated 2020 volleyball season opened with a thrilling five-set victory for Texas State (25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 19-25, 18-16) against Central Arkansas Friday morning inside Shelton Gym. The win gives head coach Sean Huiet his first as the leader of the Bobcats.
 
"I am a proud coach," said Huiet. "We have talked all fall camp about being ready for anything and be able to adapt. Today we had to do that. I thought we looked really good at times, then had our moments of zoning out. But for our first match and all that we are dealing with, it was a great win. I cannot say enough about my staff. They have been amazing through it all."
 
Sophomore outside hitter Caitlan Buettner pieced together a dominant performance as she logged her first career double-double with 27 kills behind a .377 hitting percentage and had 17 digs. All three of which are new career-highs. Junior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald concluded with 15 kills (.379) and had two blocks, while both middle blockers, senior Tyeranee Scott (.333) and sophomore Tessa Marshall (.474) each registered 10 kills. Scott also had two solo blocks. Junior setter Emily DeWalt turned in a career-high 56 assists and had nine digs, five kills, and the team's loan service ace to add to her stat line. Junior libero Kayla Granado set a new career-best with 22 digs and freshman DS Kayla Tello tallied 12 digs.
 
UCA's senior outside hitter Amanda Beaton led the team with a double-double of her own with 24 kills (.375) and 10 digs. She also led all players with two aces. Junior outside hitter Lexi Miller followed her lead with 19 kills behind a .333 hitting percentage and senior setter Bailey Waddington directed the offense with 51 assists and added four kills, four digs, and one ace. Junior Ravin Rhodes led all players with three solo blocks and senior Emily Doss led the UCA with 21 digs and also had one ace.
 
Overall, the match totaled 41 ties and 16 lead changes. TXST outhit UCA .314-.258, had 77 kills to the Sugar Bear's 71, and handed out 71 assists compared to UCA's 66. Central Arkansas did log six aces to the Bobcats' one, and won the battle at the net in blocks, 7-5.
 
Texas State is now 5-3 all-time against Central Arkansas and is on a three-match winning streak.       
 
Set 1
The opening set featured six ties and three lead changes but the Bobcats pulled away with a 25-20 victory. Tied at 17, the Bobcats closed the frame with an 8-3 scoring run. Buettner led the Bobcats with six kills on 12 errorless swings, and Fitzgerald followed with four kills. Overall, Texas State hit .432 in the set with 19 kills on 37 swings and three errors.  
 
Set 2
The Bobcats took a 2-0 lead after winning the second set 25-22. The Bobcats' offense continued to be effective and hit .364 while holding the Sugar Bears to a .196 clip. DeWalt finished the set with 12 assists and snuck in three kills on eight attempts (.375). Buettner continued to lead with four kills and had no errors, While Scott and Fitzgerald joined DeWalt with three kills each.
 
Set 3
The Sugar Bears avoided the sweep with a 25-22 win in the third set that saw 13 ties and five lead changes. With the teams tied at 20, Beaton went on a personal 2-0 run to ignite the Sugar Bears, and they went on to score three of the next five points. UCA outhit TXST .333-.316 thanks to Miller cashing in on six kills in the stanza. Buettner led the Bobcats with four kills on 11 swings with one error, and sophomore middle blocker Tessa Marshall had three kills in the set.
 
Set 4
UCA continued to apply pressure to TXST and forced a fifth set after winning the fourth 25-19. A kill by Buettner gave the Bobcats their first lead in the set at 7-6, but a UCA kill and a Bobcat ball handling error gave the lead back to the Sugar Bears and they held it for the remainder of the set. Although Buettner dominated with eight kills in the set, the Bobcats only hit .175 as a unit while the Sugar Bears hit .214 and capitalized on three aces.
 
Set 5
Texas State and Central Arkansas traded points throughout the entire set with neither team having a lead that exceeded two points. The Bobcats led for majority of the match, but with a 13-12 lead in hand, the Sugar Bears struck back with two quick points to take their first lead in the set at 14-13 which forced a Bobcat timeout. TXST regained the lead 15-14 with two kills out of the timeout, but consecutive errors put UCA ahead 16-15. Central Arkansas returned the favor with a bad set and an attack error, and Buettner sealed the match with a kill to win the set 18-16. Buettner and Fitzgerald split 10 kills evenly which was the total number of kills in the set for UCA.
 
UP NEXT
Texas State will complete opening day by challenging Stephen F. Austin at 6:30 p.m.
 
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