HONOLULU, HI — It was a collegiate debut
Bailey Hanner will never forget.
Hanner, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker out of Sugar Land, Texas by way of Fort Bend Academy, was summoned off the bench during the third set of Texas State's three-set loss in front of 5,023 people at Hawaii - the largest home crowd for a Rainbow Wahine match since 2019 - Thursday night. Texas State volleyball head coach
Sean Huiet wanted his former three-time first-team all-district and two-time first-team all-state selection to clog up the middle of the net and slow down the Hawaii (1-3) offense, because "she's a very good blocker," according to the third-year head coach.
With Texas State (3-1) trailing 8-10 during the third set, Hanner was sent onto the court at SimplifFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Moments later, Hanner forced Hawaii's Amber Igiede, who finished with a game-high 20 kills, into a second attack error on the night with her career solo block.
Hanner's first career assist, which capped a rally started by the freshman's first career serve attempt, came when a
Janell Fitzgerald kill came in the midst of a 7-2 Bobcat run. And her first career dig followed minutes later when a rally was ended by block assists from Fitzgerald and
Tessa Marshall.
FROM HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET
"Yeah, we're just disappointed we couldn't finish. We had set point there in that first set and had a lot of momentum. We needed to finish that, but I also don't love how we responded in set two. That's not our style of volleyball. I thought we picked it up in set three and did some things well. But, again, there at the end, we just have to finish. Against a team like Hawaii, they work very low air and had only four unearned errors. And the fact that we were in that match and playing at a high level, I'm just disappointed we couldn't finish."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY SET
- 1st | Texas State 26, Hawaii 28
- 2nd | Texas State 20, Hawaii 25
- 3rd | Texas State 25, Hawaii 27
MATCH NOTES
- With her team-high 15 kills Thursday night, outside hitter Janell Fizgerald passed Shelly McGehee for fourth on the program's career kills list. From 1985 to 1988, McGehee was credited with 1,418 kills as a Bobcat. Fitzgerald will enter Friday's match against UCLA with 1,430. Shenequa Bedford (1997-2000) is next on the list with 1,453.
- By ending the match with a 34-assist, 11-dig performance, setter Emily DeWalt posted her second double-double on the season and team-leading 68th for her career. In Texas State's four-set win over Houston Baptist to begin the season on Thursday, Aug. 26, DeWalt finished the match with 43 assists and 14 digs.
- Thursday night's first set (26-28) marked the first time both Texas State and its opponent reached 25-or-more points in a single set since the opening set (27-25) of a three-set win by the Bobcats at Georgia State on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021.
- With Alyssa Ortega (13), Janell Fitzgerald (12) and Emily DeWalt (11) all finishing with double-digit digs, it marked the first time since a four-set match against Louisiana on Nov. 13, 2021, that three Bobcat volleyball student-athletes reached double-digit digs in the same match. Kayla Granado (18), Fitzgerald (14) and DeWalt (13) accomplished the feat against the Ragin' Cajuns.
UP NEXT
- The Texas State volleyball will continue its participation in the Outrigger Volleyball Classic, hosted by the University of Hawaii at Manoa, when the Bobcats play No. 23 UCLA on Friday, Sept. 2 at 9:45 p.m. CST / 4:45 p.m. HST.
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.
