SAN MARCOS, Texas — Texas State volleyball celebrated Senior Night and finished the regular season with a statement 3-1 win over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers as the team improves to 12-4 to wrap up Sun Belt Conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The match started off even-keeled on both sides. The two teams were matching points most the way through the set, but Texas State controlled momentum the entire way. The Chanticleers pulled things level at 16 apiece, but after that the Bobcats went on a 4-0 run that was enough to give them space to close out the set their style of play. After out-killing the Chanticleers and holding the visitors to a zero attack percentage, Texas State won the opening set 25-19. Samantha Wunsch started the night off hot with five kills on 11 attempts.

The second set was very similar, again with the Bobcats controlling the tempo, but it was a slight run that gave the Bobcats an 18-13 lead that was what separated the two sides. After matching points most the way through, the Bobcats gritted out a late-set run to get the 25-21 win in set two. Thanks to 5.0 team blocks and Sophie Childs heating up in set two with four kills on seven attempts, the Bobcats went up 2-0.

Set three was a battle between the two sides. The set took extra points to decide and saw 16 tied scored and eight lead changes. Truly neither side was able to get into a rhythm or pull away from the pack till the end. No more than three points ever separated these two sides. Ultimately, though, Coastal edged out the Bobcats to win the set 26-24.

It was another battle to the finish in set four, but the Bobcats showed their grit and determination the whole way. Despite going up in the early stages of the set, the Bobcats weren't able to hold onto the lead. Coastal came back to tie things 18-18 and that's when the Bobcats had to dig deep to get the win on Senior Night. 

When Coastal went up 25-24, head coach Sean Huiet called a time out to regroup his team. Out of the timeout, Childs got a game-saving kill to keep her team in it. From there, a few more points were traded back-and-forth between the sides. Ultimately, though, it was back-to-back kills from Wunsch that sealed the deal for the Bobats and won them the set, 29-27.

WHAT HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET SAID: "I'm feeling good. We talked about rebounding today. That's the one thing I liked about playing the same team back-to-back. You get a chance to see them again. Obviously they won the conference, that's one of the best team's we're going to see. To play at this level two nights in a row says a lot. I'm so proud that we were able to go out and get that in four because it gives us a lot of momentum into next week."

STAT LEADERS

• Kills – KJ Johnson (15)
• Assists – Ryann Torres (48)
• Service Aces – Jacqueline Lee (2)
• Blocks – Bailey Hanner (6)
• Digs – Alyssa Ortega (23)

SCORES BY SET

1. 1st | Texas State 25, Coastal Carolina 19
2. 2nd | Texas State 25, Coastal Carolina 21
3. 3rd | Coastal Carolina 26, Texas State 24
4. 4th | Texas State 29, Coastal Carolina 27

 
MATCH NOTES

• The Bobcats are improve 19-8 on the season and 12-4 in Sun Belt Conference play with the loss to Troy. 
• Head coach Sean Huiet sits at 94 career wins, with a 94-36 record in his four-year tenure at Texas State. He has a 55-9 record in Sun Belt Conference games. 
• Sophie Childs had a career-high 12 kills against Coastal Carolina.
• KJ Johnson had her 10^th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 15 digs.

UP NEXT:
The Bobcats will await to find out their opponent in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament. The match will be played on Friday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. against the winner of the 4^th west and 5th east seed game.
 
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.