FOLEY, Alabama — Texas State volleyball swept Marshall in its opening game of the 2023 Sun Belt Conference tournament. After earning a bye in the first two rounds as the No. 1 seed in the West Division, the Bobcats opened the tournament with a statement sweep against the No. 4 seed in the East.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Things started off even between the two sides, up until the score was level at 10-10. Jade Defraeye got a kill backed by a block with Samantha Wunsch to start a 12-0 scoring run by the Bobcats, their longest scoring run of conference play. The run was highlighted by three kills from Sophie Childs and three aces from Ryann Torres. It was enough to put the set out of reach for Marshall and on the end of three kills, the Bobcats won the opening set 25-14.

The dominance continued with a 6-1 start in the second set. With the prolific Bobcat blocking in its usual stride, Texas State was able to capitalize on some errors by the Marshall attack. That, and another 9-1 run that saw the Bobcats with a 21-11 lead, put the second set out of reach for Marshall. After hitting .323 for 14 kills in the second set, the Bobcats won 25-13 and headed to set three looking for a sweep.

The Bobcats went up 10-3 to keep momentum on their side in the third set. After trading points, the Bobcats started to go on another run to end the match. A 4-1 run found them up 20-10 again, but the night was capped off by a 5-0 run that included two blocks and two kills for the Bobcats to get the sweep and the 25-11 set win.

Through the three sets the Bobcats hit .336 while holding Marshall to just .019 on the night. The Bobcats had 45 kills, eight team blocks and six aces in the win against the Thundering Hurd. 

WHAT HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET SAID: "That was one of the cleanest matches we have played in a while.  Having the double bye is nice for rest purposes but you start to get antsy watching everyone else play.  Glad this group was able to come out firing on all cylinders.  This was a great team win!"

STAT LEADERS

• Kills – Samantha Wunsch (11)
• Assists – Ryann Torres (33)
• Service Aces – Jacqueline Lee, Ryann Torres (3)
• Blocks – Bailey Hanner (5)
• Digs – Ryann Torres (14)

SCORES BY SET
    1st | Texas State 25, Marshall 13
    2nd | Texas State 25, Marshall 14
    3rd | Texas State 25, Marshall 11
 
 
MATCH NOTES

• The Bobcats advance to the semi-finals for the 11^th straight year. Since the Bobcats joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2013 they have never not made the tournament semi-finals.
• Head coach Sean Huiet sits at 95 career wins, with a 95-36 record in his four-year tenure at Texas State. He has a 55-9 record in Sun Belt Conference games. 
• Bailey Hanner hit a career-high .667 with nine kills, also tacking on five blocks for her all-around contribution tonight.
• The Bobcats had five players hit above .300 tonight, including Hanner's .667 and Wunsch's .333 as she led the team with 11 kills.

UP NEXT:
The Bobcats will face James Madison in the tournament semi-finals tomorrow at 5 p.m. at the Foley Events Center. The winner of the game will face the winner of the Coastal Carolina and South Alabama on Sunday.
 
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