FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas State bounced back with a solid sweep against TCU on Saturday afternoon at Schollmaier Arena. The sweep marks the 17th for the Bobcats in the 2020-21 season.
The Bobcats (26-3) hit .355 in the match behind 44 kills on 93 swings and committed 11 errors. They also aced the Horned Frogs (1-11) three times. Texas State also held TCU to a .158 hitting percentage, registered seven blocks, and dug 40 balls in the win.
"I am excited with how we executed today," said head coach Sean Huiet. "We had been in a little funk since coming back from the break and it felt good to perform like we knew we could. I am so proud of how we rebounded, refocused, and played clean volleyball today."
Sophomore outside hitter Caitlan Buettner was the only Bobcat with double-digit kills, totaling 10 on 20 attacks with two errors (.400). Buettner was one dig shy of a double-double and added one block. Junior outside Janell Fitzgerald turned in nine kills (.316) and had one block, while senior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott had eight kills on four swings with one error (.467) and led the team three blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Teske also registered eight kills (.467), eight digs, and two blocks. Junior setter Emily DeWalt recorded 34 assists, five digs, three blocks, and two kills, and junior middle Jillian Slaughter contributed five kills, a match-high three aces, and matched Scott's three blocks.
No player finished with double-digit kills for TCU. Junior middle blocker Katie Clark, sophomore middle blocker Afedo Manyang, and sophomore outside hitter Audrey Nalls all finished with eight kills and two blocks. Sophomore middle Mykayla Myers led the team with three blocks, and senior libero Dani Dennison paced the team with 13 digs. Freshman setter Alyssa Heist had 22 assists and eight digs in the loss.
Set 1
The Bobcats came out of the gates firing by scoring the first four points to force the Horned Frogs' first timeout of the set. TXST would go on to build their lead to 14-7 before TCU burned its final timeout of the frame. The timeouts did not cool down the Cats though, as they scored 11 of the final 17 points to win the set 25-14. Slaughter paced the team with three kills, two aces, and a block, while Buettner and Fitzgerald each added three kills.
Set 2
TCU had the fast start, jumping out to a 9-4 lead, but a kill from Teske sparked a Bobcat 9-0 run and collected both of the Horned Frogs timeouts as they led the home team 13-9. TCU played its way back to a 16-16 stanza, but the Bobcats scored the next three points and did not relinquish its lead as they escaped with a 25-22 victory.
Set 3
TCU led the scoring, but TXST grabbed its first lead at 7-6 thanks to a block by DeWalt and Slaughter, and the Bobcats took the lead for good at 10-9 courtesy of a TCU attack error amid a 5-0 run. Texas State ultimately separated themselves with a 7-1 run and closed the set with a 6-3 margin to win the set 25-19. TXST hit .389 in the final set (14-4-36) and had four blocks, including a solo from Teske. Teske also had a set-high four kills, followed by three kills from Buettner.
UP NEXT
Texas State will head to Kansas next for a match at Kansas State at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 4 at the Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan., and then take on Kansas at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 5 at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence, Kan.
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