SAN MARCOS, Texas — As Texas State volleyball's three-set win over UTA developed Thursday night, it wasn't a matter of if
Janell Fitzgerald and
Jada Gardner would reach double-digit kills but when the Bobcat duo would surpass the mark.
It happened for both Texas State student-athletes during the middle stages of the second set after the Bobcats came from behind to take the first set and used the momentum to run away with the rest of the match.
With UTA (3-11, 1-4) leading 23-21 in the first set, Texas State (7-11, 3-2) used a Maverick service error to draw within one and set the stage for Gardner, who went on a 3-0 personal scoring run to push her kill total to nine in the opening set.
Gardner passed the hot hand to Fitzgerald to start the second set, but recorded her 10th kill as part of a 5-0 run to allow Texas State to break a 14-14 tie and take a 19-14 lead.
After having three kills in the first set, Fitzgerald reeled off seven during the second set with her 10th coming in between two Gardner kills to make it 22-15, Bobcats. The duo combined for nine kills during the third set that was capped by a
Caitlan Buettner, who opened the match with one, kill.
FROM HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET
"I'm excited. That was a really good win for us. We've talked — a lot over the last week — about getting over that hump of being a little sluggish. I told them (after the match) that proud (of them). I thought set one could've gone either way. And for us to come back after being down three there late, I thought that was the difference because it created the momentum that we needed."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY SET
- 1st | Texas State 25, UTA 23
- 2nd | Texas State 25, UTA 17
- 3rd | Texas State 25, UTA 15
MATCH NOTES
- For the third time this season, Texas State senior setter Emily DeWalt was credited with 40-or-more assists in a match. However, it was the first time this season DeWalt reached that mark in a three-set match. DeWalt had a season-high 49 assists in four sets at Troy, then 41 assists in four sets at Texas Tech.
- With a 17-kill, 12-dig performance Thursday night, Janell Fitzgerald recorded her fifth double-double on the season. Over her last six matches, Fitzgerald has earned four double-doubles, including three in her last five conference matches.
- For the first time since being credited with 11 kills on 19 total attacks against North Texas on March 25, 2021, senior middle blocker Jillian Slaughter recorded her first kill in a home match. The moment came when Slaughter capitalized on a Brooke Johnson set in the early stages of an 8-0 Texas State scoring run to break a 4-4 tie in the third set.
UP NEXT
- After a three-match homestand, the Texas State volleyball program will return to the road with a trip to Arlington, Texas to wrap up a two-match-in-three-day stretch with UTA. First serve is set for 6:02 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9.
- 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.
