LAFAYETTE, La. — Entering the 2022 volleyball season, there were only two names above
Emily DeWalt under the career assists tab in the Texas State record book. As the Bobcats left Lafayette, La., Saturday afternoon following its second three-set win over the Ragin' Cajuns in as many days, there were no more names above DeWalt's.
During the middle portion of the third set in Saturday's match,
Lauren Teske received a Reka Kotorman serve. DeWalt, standing halfway between the net and the attack line, found the volleyball flying through the air, gently pushed it back into the sky. As the volleyball did not rotate, Bobcat middle blocker
Tessa Marshall soared through the air to send the volleyball towards Louisiana's Coco Gillett, who was playing on the backrow on the other side of the court.
Gillett was not able to dig the attack. It went down as Marshall's fifth kill in the match, but, more importantly, it was DeWalt's 5,518th career assist, passing Kristy Braun (1991-94) for the program's all-time career assist mark.
Needing just 34 assists to pass Brain entering Saturday's action, DeWalt nearly accomplished the feat throughout the first two sets as the graduate student was credited 28 assists through two sets. She went on to add 16 more during the third to finish with 44 on the afternoon.
Her 44 assists marked the most in a three-set match this season and, combined with the 37 from Friday night's match, has DeWalt sitting just 164 from another important name: Leslie Clark. Clark, who played four seasons at Middle Tennessee State from 2006-09, holds the Sun Belt Conference's all-time career assist mark with 5,692.
DeWalt comes back to San Marcos with 5,528.
FROM HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET
"(
Emily DeWalt) has just done so much for our program. It is so awesome for her to have this record now, but she's the type of kid who wants her teammates to get the recognition. I can't say enough positives things (about her). I get interviewed all the time about her and she's just a special, special player."
FROM SETTER EMILY DEWALT
"I'm very blessed. It's all very humbling. I came into this program as a freshman and just wanted to get onto the court. So, to be able to reach this milestone, it shows the progress and just all the time and effort I put in. And, obviously, I could not have done this without everyone around me. I've had so many amazing teammates since I came in as a freshman and they've all helped me get to this point."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY SET
- 1st | Texas State 25, Louisiana 18
- 2nd | Texas State 29, Louisiana 27
- 3rd | Texas State 33, Louisiana 31
MATCH NOTES
- Texas State finished Saturday's action with three student-athletes having earned double-doubles: Emily DeWalt (44 assists, 15 digs), Lauren Teske (18 kills, 11 digs) and Janell Fitzgerald (15 kills, 11 digs). It marked the seventh time this season multiple student-athletes finished with a double-double in the same match — second against a Sun Belt opponent (Emily DeWalt: 42 assists, 11 digs; Maggie Walsh: 12 kills, 14 digs at ULM on Sept. 22) — and first time three student-athletes accomplished the feat this season.
- With Louisiana finishing Saturday's match with a .160 attack percentage, it marked the second time this season the Texas State defense has held the same opponent to a sub-.200 attack percentage in multiple games after holding the Ragin' Cajuns to a .123 attack percentage Friday night. The Bobcats also accomplished the feat against UIW earlier this season by holding the Cardinals to a .103 and .113 attack percentae in consecutive matches.
- By finishing with 44 assists in Saturday's match, Emily DeWalt has now surpassed 40-or-more assists in a three-set match twice on the season — both in conference play — and 15 times on her career.
- Following her performance Saturday afternoon, Emily DeWalt is leading the conference on both total assists (282) and assists per set (12.82) in just 22 sets played in conference-only matches.
- By finishing Friday night's match with 37 assists and Saturday with 44, Emily DeWalt now has three of the Sun Belt's top five assist marks in three-set conference matches. Her 44-assist performance against the Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday tied Troy's Amara Anderson, who accomplished the feat at Southern Miss on Oct. 1, 2022, for the most in a three-set conference match so far this season.
UP NEXT
- Texas State (13-5, 5-1) will now return to San Marcos to play a two-match series against Southern Miss (12-6, 4-2) that begins on Friday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. Action on Saturday, Oct. 15 is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. The Golden Eagles are coming to Texas following a two-match sweep of ULM over the weekend and have won four of their last five matches.
FOLLOW US
- For the latest information on the team, follow @TexasStateVball on Twitter, @TxStateVolleyball on Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can also be at @TxStateBobcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
