FORT WORTH, TX — J.W. Walsh played against TCU as a quarterback for the Oklahoma State football program, before spending time on the TCU coaching staff as a graduate assistant, so people in Fort Worth knew his name prior to this weekend's Horned Frog Invitational.
But Saturday night, the TCU faithful learned of his little sister, Maggie. The four-time all-district selection at San Marcos (TX) High School subbed into the four-set match with Texas State (8-4) holding onto an 8-6 lead over TCU (5-6) in the first set. The only time the freshman left the court at any point throughout the remainder of the match was when she was rotated off while serving as the Bobcats' defensive specialist.
A second set kill from Walsh not only put the outside hitter into the box score, but also foreshadowed things to come during the match's third set.
With Texas State looking to turn around the match's momentum after TCU won the second set to even the score, Walsh was instrumental in ballooning a 5-3 Texas State lead into an 18-13 Bobcat advantage with three kills and two block assists during the middle portion of the set. Texas State ultimately won the set to take control of the final match of the weekend's action.
After TCU opened the third set with a quick 5-2 scoring run, Walsh's career-high fifth kill helped make up an 8-3 scoring run to give Texas State a 10-8 lead. Despite the Horned Frogs re-tying the match at 10-10, the Bobcats went on a 4-0 run to re-take the lead. From there, TCU never got closer than two points until 23-22, when
Janell Fitzgerald and
Jada Gardner capped the match with back-to-back points.
FROM HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET
"I've said for a long time that Maggie (Walsh) was going to get on the court, because she can pass the ball. We were struggling trying to find something and I thought she did a great job on the back row, but it was nice to see her finally be able to have the opportunity to take some big swings and get comfortable on the front row as well. She's going to be a really good player down the line and it's good to be able to get some reps."
FROM FRESHMAN OUTSIDE HITTER MAGGIE WALSH
"When (Coach Huiet) put me in, I felt like I just had to do my job. I'm not normally a starter, but if he puts me in, I know what I have to do. I was getting more confident the longer I was out there in the action, and I was definitely getting more confident, too, the more my teammates were hyping me up and things like that. I think what really worked well for me tonight was just the fact that I was talking and communicating more. I feel I play better the more I communication and just talk with my teammates while out on the floor."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY SET
Alabama
- 1st | Alabama 25, Texas State 15
- 2nd | Alabama 25, Texas State 23
- 3rd | Alabama 25, Texas State 23
TCU
- 1st | Texas State 25, TCU 22
- 2nd | TCU 25, Texas State 21
- 3rd | Texas State 25, TCU 19
- 4th | Texas State 25, TCU 22
MATCH NOTES
- Texas State setter Emily DeWalt was named the "Best Setter" of the Horned Frog Invitational following her performance on the weekend. In 12 sets played throughout three matches, DeWalt finished with 130 assists and a 10.83 assist per set average as the Bobcat offense totaled 163 kills and a 13.58 kills per set average on a .299 attack percentage. She also added 18 digs, seven kills, three service aces and two block assists to her setting stat line.
- Janell Fitzgerald joined DeWalt with post-tournament recognition as the Texas State outside hitter was named to the seven-player Horned Frog Invitational All-Tournament Team. In 11 sets played throughout three matches in Fort Worth, Fitzgerald totaled 38 kills and a 3.45 kills per set average on a .293 attack percentage. She also finished the invitational with 17 digs, five block assists, two assists and one service ace.
- Early in the second set against Alabama to open Saturday's action, Janell Fitzgerald became just the third student-athlete in program history to surpass the 1,500-career kill milestone when she was credited with a kill to tie the set at 2-2. Combining her performance against the Crimson Tide with her 21-kill evening against TCU, Fitzgerald will enter Sun Belt Conference play with 1,528 career kills and just 30 back of passing Lawrencia Brown (2005-08) for second on the program's career kills list.
UP NEXT
- Having completed the non-conference portion of its 2022 schedule, the Texas State volleyball program now turns its attention to Sun Belt action as the Bobcats will travel to Monroe, La., for a two-game conference-opening series at ULM on Thursday, Sept. 22 (6 PM) and Friday, Sept. 23 (12 PM).
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.
