FOLEY, Ala. — Down two points and South Alabama having match point,
Janell Fitzgerald had one thought: "If I'm going out, I'm going to go out swinging."
And the two-time reigning Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year ended Saturday's night match swinging … four straight times to send the Bobcats to their sixth consecutive Sun Belt Conference Championship match after Fitzgerald went on a personal 4-0 scoring run. Fitzgerald's run capped a rally for Texas State that saw the Bobcats comeback from a 10-6 deficit in the set.
The final rally, though, no one remembers the exact details until Fitzgerald and her teammates were dogpiling on the court. But, for those watching the match in person and on ESPN+, it went as followed:
Dig
Jada Gardner. Set
Emily DeWalt. Kill
Janell Fitzgerald.
A combination that has sparked the Texas State Bobcats to a conference-leading 24 wins this season. A 25th would give the Bobcats their first conference tournament championship since the 2020 season and fourth in the last five season.
FROM HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET
"I, honestly, can't put into words how I feel after tonight's match. To rally from four points down while South Alabama had match point was truly a defining moment for this team. I can't say enough positive things about everyone who came off the bench, because without them, we don't win that match. This wasn't how I wanted it to end for this senior class either, so to watch them go above and beyond tonight left me speechless. Everyone knows we go as Emily (DeWalt) and Janell (Fitzgerald) go, so to watch that duo just completely take over during the critical stages of the fifth set, there's a reason those two are pillars for this volleyball program."
FROM OUTSIDE HITTER JANELL FITZGERALD
"I remember being in shock (during that fifth set). When we were down to (South Alabama's) match point, I just remember blinking and thinking, 'Is this it?' I just wasn't ready to be done playing volleyball, then I got rotated to the front row and if anything, I was going to go out swinging. I didn't play five years to just let it die, especially to the team which ended our season last year."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY SET
- 1st | South Alabama 25, Texas State 15
- 2nd | Texas State 25, South Alabama 19
- 3rd | Texas State 25, South Alabama 19
- 4th | South Alabama 25, Texas State 23
- 5th | Texas State 16, South Alabama 14
MATCH NOTES
- Outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald finished Saturday night's match with 25 kills and 21 digs, marking the first career 20-20 match for the fifth-year senior.
- Caitlan Buettner's 14 kills on a .333 attack percentage were the most kills for the fourth-year senior since being credited with 15 on a .344 attack percentage in a four-set win over James Madison on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.
- Since dropping a five-set match at South Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, Texas State has gone on to win its last four five-set matches this season.
- By finishing with 19 kills and 16 digs on the evening, sixth-year senior Jada Gardner recorded her second double-double on the season.
- Gardner had an 18-kill, 12-dig performance in a Bobcat five-set win at Coastal Carolina on Nov. 11, 2022.
- Texas State's fifth-year senior setter Emily DeWalt finished with a 58-assist, 11-dig double-double, marking her 80th career double-double.
- DeWalt's 80 career double-doubles are 56 more than the next closest Bobcat, Janell Fitzgerald (24).
- Since Sean Huiet took over at the helm of the program, Texas State has reached the final match of the Sun Belt Conference Championship every season.
UP NEXT
- With the win over South Alabama (18-13), Texas State (24-6) advances to the final match of the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Championship, where the Bobcats will play James Madison (23-4) at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 20.
- Texas State is the only volleyball team in the Sun Belt Conference to have beaten James Madison this season when the Bobcats knocked off the Dukes in four sets in San Marcos on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.
- The two programs split two regular season matches with James Madison winning in five sets on Friday, Sept. 30, before Texas State responded by winning in four on Saturday, Oct. 1.
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.
