SAN MARCOS, Texas — With pre-game festivities centered around the senior quartet of
Kenedi Rutherford,
Tyeranee Scott,
Kayla Granado and
Brooke Johnson, the Texas State volleyball program displayed a performance Sunday morning that reminded fans why the Bobcats are three-time defending conference championship when TXST knocked off Arkansas State in straight sets.
The program also honored the 1991 and 2011 Southland Conference championship-winning squads, which laid the foundation for the current championship run led by Rutherford, Scott, Granado and Johnson, between the match's second and third sets.
The trio of Rutherford (11), Scott (11) and Granado (1) accounted for 42.3 percent of the Bobcats' kill total (52) against the Red Wolves on Sunday. Defensively, Granado (13) and Johnson (4) were credited with 31.4 percent of the team's dig total (54) as well.
All four seniors, which have now won 123 total matches and 70 Sun Belt Conference matches, were joined by
Tessa Marshall,
Janell Fitzgerald and
Emily DeWalt in the starting lineup.
FROM HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET
"I'm just excited. I thought we played really well today. You always get a little excited and nervous with regards to the emotions of a senior day; there are a lot of tears early on because these kids mean so much. I just thought we played really well today. I was excited to get the win and a little rest now."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY SET
- 1st | Texas State 25, Arkansas State 20
- 2nd | Texas State 25, Arkansas State 7
- 3rd | Texas State 26, Arkansas State 24
MATCH NOTES
- In her first start of the season, senior outside hitter Kenedi Rutherford answered the call with an 11-kill performance en route to finishing the match with 11.0 points and two digs. Sunday morning marked the first double-digit kill match for Rutherford since having 13 against TCU on March 18, 2021. It was the 11th time during her Texas State career the Houston native has recorded 10-or-more kills in a match.
- For the fourth straight match and ninth time against Sun Belt Conference opponents this season, senior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald finished a match with a double-double. On Sunday, Fitzgerald had a team-high 13 kills to go with 10 digs. She entered this season with no career double-doubles and now has 11 with two regular-season matches to go.
- Tessa Marshall led the Bobcats with a .583 hitting percentage (seven kills on 12 attacks with zero errors). It marks the third time this season Marshall has not had an attack error during a match against a Sun Belt Conference opponent. She also achieved the feat at Troy on Friday, Sept. 24 and against ULM on Friday, Oct. 1.
- After having her first career double-double against Little Rock on Friday night, senior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott returned to the floor and finished Sunday's match with 11 kills, which marked the third time this season Scott has recorded double-digit kills. This weekend also marked the first time Scott has recorded double-digit kills in back-to-back regular-season conference matches since doing so in three straight matches from Oct. 17, 2020 to Oct. 23, 2020.
UP NEXT
- With the home portion of its fall 2021 season now behind it, Texas State will now head to the state of Louisiana next weekend to play ULM on Friday, Nov. 12, before wrapping up the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 13 at Louisiana. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT.
- 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.
