MOBILE, Ala. — Twenty-four hours after picking up its first Sun Belt Conference win on the season, the Texas State volleyball program were upended by South Alabama in three sets on Saturday night.
The opening phases of the first set were a back-and-forth battle with neither team able to pull more than one point ahead until
Emily DeWalt and
Tyeranee Scott combined on a block to make it 11-9, Bobcats. However, South Alabama (9-5, 2-0) went on a 9-2 run to take an 18-13 lead. The Bobcats (5-10, 1-1) fought back to cut its deficit to three at 21-18, but the Jaguars answered with a 4-0 run to end the set.
During the second set, Texas State fought back from a 3-point deficit to tie the set at 11-11, before both teams scored a point, then tied the score up until 19-18, Jaguars. From that point, South Alabama went on a 6-2 run to take the set.
Texas State opened the third set on a 7-1 run, before the momentum shifted, and South Alabama came back to tie the set at 9-9. The Bobcats scored the following point, but the Jaguars re-tied the set. The two teams, again, tried points and ties until South Alabama went up 16-14. The Jaguars went on to take nine of the next 15 points to seal the win.
FROM HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET
"Right now, our highs are really high and our lows are really low. We need to be more consistent. This group is overthinking a lot and not competing like we know how. You have to give (head coach) Jesse (Ortiz) and his staff at South Alabama for having a great game plan and sticking to it."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY SET
- 1st | South Alabama 25, Texas State 18
- 2nd | South Alabama 25, Texas State 20
- 3rd | South Alabama 25, Texas State 20
MATCH NOTES
- Texas State senior setter Emily DeWalt was the lone Bobcat to record at least one statistic in each volleyball statistical category Saturday night. DeWalt finished with 24 assists, 12 digs, two kills, one service ace and one block.
- Fellow Bobcat senior Brooke Johnson recorded her third straight double-digit dig performance as Johnson was credited with 19 digs against the Jaguars. It marks the fourth time this season Johnson has finished a match with double-digit digs.
- Jada Gardner turned in a season-high five blocks against South Alabama Saturday night. Gardner's previous season high was four at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday, Sept. 16. Gardner has recorded at least 1.0 blocks in 10 games this season, including the last three in a row.
- Caitlan Buettner's 12 kills against South Alabama were one shy of her season high of 13, which she did against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday, Sept. 16 and UTEP on Friday, Sept. 17.
UP NEXT
- Texas State will return to the friendly confines of Strahan Arena at the University Events Center next week when the Bobcats host ULM on Friday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m., then square off against Louisiana on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m.
- 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.
