SAN MARCOS, Texas — In a battle of the Sun Belt Conference Division leaders on Friday night, the Texas State volleyball program came out on top with a three-set win over Coastal Carolina.
In the first set, Texas State (11-11, 7-2) broke a 7-7 tie on a
Jada Gardner kill to take an 8-7 advantage. The Bobcats never looked back as they lead the rest of the way. TXST fought off a late-set rally from Coastal Carolina as the Chanticleers cut it to 21-20, but TXST a 4-2 run to close out the set.
The two teams traded the lead to open the second set, but Texas State went on a 12-2 run to balloon its lead to 18-6. The Bobcats continued the offensive outburst as they went on a 7-6 run to take a two-set advantage.
Texas State had to rally in the third set as Coastal Carolina (14-5, 8-1) ran out to a 4-0 lead, then eventually a 15-13 advantage. The Bobcats responded with a 7-0 run to take a 20-15 edge. TXST and Coastal Carolina split the match's next six points, before the Bobcats scored two of the final three points to take the win.
FROM HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET
"That was a great win. I'm so proud of our kids for how aggressive they played for start to finish. You continue to see them gain confidence and play at a high level, which at this time of our season, is awesome to see. We will enjoy it tonight, but we have a good App State team to be ready for tomorrow. Tessa (Marshall) had a great week of practice and it really showed tonight as she led us offensively and defensively."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY SET
- 1st | Texas State 25, Coastal Carolina 22
- 2nd | Texas State 27, Coastal Carolina 12
- 3rd | Texas State 25, Coastal Carolina 19
MATCH NOTES
- For just the second time in the series history, a match between Texas State and Coastal Carolina was finished in three sets and first time since Oct. 1, 2017, when the Bobcats won in three sets in Conway, S.C.
- Dating back to last season's Sun Belt Conference championship match, Texas State has now won the last five straight sets over Coastal Carolina.
- With her seven-kill performance Friday night, senior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald moved into the program's top 10 career kills list. Fitzgerald, now 10th on the list, enters tomorrow's match with Appalachian State with 1,258 career kills. She passed Amari Deardorff (1,254; 2010-13) for 10th.
UP NEXT
- Texas State will continue its two-match home conference tilt against the East Division when the Bobcats host Appalachian State on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m.
- For the latest information on the team, follow @TexasStateVball on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can also be at @TxStateBobcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
