SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State battled No. 6 Baylor tough, but fell in three sets (20-25, 18-25, 19-25) Wednesday night at Strahan Arena. 

The Bobcats (27-6, 15-1 Sun Belt) hit .250 on the night with 36 kills but mustered just one ace and a pair of blocks. The Lady Bears (16-4, 13-3 Big 12) hit .398 behind 53 kills on 103 attacks with 12 errors, had eight blocks, and five aces. 

"We are on the verge. I feel like we are not backing down or scared to play at this level but we have to get our confidence level up to know that we can compete consistently," said head coach Sean Huiet. "It is a process, but we know these are the matches that will prepare us for the NCAA Tournament and make a run there. It is frustrating because we do not like to lose, but we are going to learn from this and get better. 

Junior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald led the Bobcats with 11 kills (.292) and had four digs and one block. Sophomore outside hitter Caitlan Buettner followed with seven kills (.250), and senior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott (.385) and junior middle Jillian Slaughter (.308) each had six kills and one block. Junior setter Emily DeWalt had 30 assists, four digs, and one block, and both senior libero Brooke Johnson and sophomore outside Lauren Teske had a team-high seven digs. Teske also added five kills.  

Senior outside hitter Yossiana Pressley led Baylor with 14 kills (.407) and added seven digs and four blocks. Junior opposite Marieke van der Mark had 11 kills had and a .444 hitting percentage. She also had two blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Harrison also added 11 kills (.286) and one block. Kara McGhee rounded out the top hitters with 10 kills on 16 swings with one error (.562) and had a match-high six blocks. Senior setter Hannah Sedwick handed out 45 assists, and junior libero Shanel Bramschreiber led the team with 15 digs and four aces. 

Set 1
BU opened by scoring the first three points before the Bobcats tied the set at five thanks to a 5-2 run. However, the Lady Bears responded by scoring five of the next six points to force a Bobcat timeout. Though the Bobcats continued to fight in the set, they would only get as close as three points and Baylor won the set 25-20. The Bobcats hit .290 in the frame led by Scott's four kills on six swings. Baylor hit .350 and registered 19 kills.

Set 2
The Bobcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three errors from the Lady Bears and led 10-6 before Baylor ripped off a 7-1 run to take a 13-11 lead and forced a TXST timeout. The Lady Bears run continued on the other side of the timeout and an overall 12-1 run made the Bobcats burn its final timeout down 18-11. Both teams split the final 14 points evenly, and BU won the set 25-18. Fitzgerald paced the team with four kills and Teske followed with three kills.   

Set 3
The third set featured 14 ties and four lead changes. The Lady Bears went into the media timeout with a narrow 15-14 lead, and both teams were tied at 16 before the Lady Bears created space with a 6-1 run making the score, 22-17 and sealed the match by winning the third set 25-19. 

UP NEXT
Next up for Texas State is a rematch against No. 2 Texas at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16 at Strahan Arena in San Marcos, Texas.
 

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