SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State concluded its spring home schedule with a sweep over North Texas (25-20, 25-22, 25-23) Thursday night at Strahan Arena.

The Bobcats (29-8, 15-1 Sun Belt) and the Mean Green (11-10, 6-6 C-USA) split the regular-season series. The first match was a straight-set victory for UNT (Feb. 22). 

TXST had a solid team performance as they out-hit UNT .200-.151 and registered more kills (48-36), assists (47-34), and aces (6-4) than UNT. Defensively the maroon and gold totaled 65 digs and had seven blocks. 

"We played a clean match," said head coach Sean Huiet. "What North Texas does well is that they force you to earn your points. They make you work hard, and last time we did not respond how I wanted. Tonight, early on, they [North Texas] showed us that they were going to battle, and I loved how our team responded. It is a great win, and as much as we are disappointed to lose two matches this weekend, we are ready for a rest. With the win tonight, I am giving the girls the next two days off."  

Sophomore outside hitter Caitlan Buettner led the team with 12 kills (.241) and added two blocks. Junior middle blocker Jillian Slaughter logged a season-high .526 hitting percentage with 11 kills on 20 swings and one error, matched a career-high three aces, and had two blocks in the win. Junior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald rounded out the top hitters with 10 kills (.207) and had six digs and three blocks. Junior setter Emily DeWalt turned in her 21st double-double this season with 39 assists and a team-high 16 digs. She also had two blocks and one kill. Senior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott led all players with five blocks to go along with six kills, junior libero Kayla Granado also had 16 digs, and sophomore outside Courtney Heiser finished with 11 digs, eight kills, and one ace.  

Junior outside hitter Rhett Robinson had a match-high 15 kills and had a .387 hitting percentage. She also had five blocks with one solo block. Senior setter Kaliegh Skopal recorded a double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs and was one of four players on her team with an ace. Junior defensive specialist Henrianna Ibarra finished with a match-high 19 digs.

Set 1
The Mean Green opened the set with a 5-1 advantage, but the Bobcats settled in and later used a 6-0 run to gain its first lead of the match at 12-10 and forced a UNT timeout. UNT tied the set a couple more times, but the home team separated themselves with a 6-2 run to make the score 19-16 and ultimately won the opening set 25-20. The Bobcats hit .300 in the set with 18 kills on 50 attacks and three errors. Slaughter led the team with six kills on 11 errorless swings (.545) and had one ace.

Set 2
North Texas scored the first two points again, but the Texas State took a 15-10 lead at the media timeout behind a 6-2 run. The Bobcats expanded its lead to as many as eight points, but the Mean Green reeled off six unanswered points to climb back in the set at 24-22. Fortunately, a UNT service error ended the comeback bid, and TXST won the set 25-22.  

Set 3
For the first time in the match, the Bobcats scored first, but the Mean Green built an 8-4 lead behind a 4-0 run to make Texas State burn its first timeout of the set. The UNT run increased to six unanswered points, but TXST responded by scoring five of the next six points to cut the deficit to 11-9. The Bobcat run expanded to 11-4 for a 15-14 lead, and although the set went back and forth and tied four times, including at 22, the Bobcats concluded with a 3-1 run to win 25-23. 

UP NEXT
The Bobcats will conclude the spring with a 6 p.m. match at No. 6 Baylor on Thursday, April 1 at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. 

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