SAN MARCOS, Texas — Texas State volleyball got its first series sweep of conference play after beating ULM 3-1 for the second night in a row on Friday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Bobcats got out to a good start against the Warhawks. In set one the team went up on a 10-6 lead to give them some cushion to battle through for the set one. With five kills in the opening set, sophomore Maggie Walsh started off her eventual double-double strong, helping the Bobcats to a 25-22 set one win.

Set two was a battle between the two sides. With seven tied scores and five lead changes, the set could've gone either way. Despite both sides matching on kills and blocks, the Warhawks dug the ball well through set two. That, paired with some attack errors by the Bobcats, and the Warhawks narrowly won the set, 25-23.

The Bobcats punched the gas in the third set. Texas State had 15 digs to hold ULM to just seven kills. Walsh once again led the way for TXST with four kills, but Zenai Jethroe had three of her own in just four attacks and a block to help the Bobcats. The Bobcats won set three comfortably by a 25-13 score line and headed to set four with momentum on their side.

After an even-matched first half of set four, the Bobcats found themselves tied 14-14. Not wanting to go to a fifth set, the team heated up. The Bobcats ended the night on an 11-2 run highlighted by 5.0 team blocks that put an exclamation mark on the set. Sophie Childs kept up her team-high .353 hitting night with three kills in set four. 

WHAT HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET SAID: 
"I'm glad we won. I'm glad we started conference 2-0 because that's where we want to be. But there's work to do. We talk a lot about when people are out, we people need to step up and we need to keep our level. You noticed Bailey [Hanner] and KJ [Johnson]not being out there. I thought Maggie [Walsh] and Sam [Wunsch] stepped up huge this weekend, Sophie [Childs] played well tonight. We've just been a little bit up and down; we just need to even out."

WHAT OUTSIDE HITTER SAMANTHA WUNSCH SAID:
"I know that my coaches have a lot of confidence in me which is really helpful for me going out. I'm not normally a back row player until recently, but with KJ [Johnson] out, just having an option in the back row and knowing that my teammates have my back and wanting the best for me, and cheering me on."
STAT LEADERS

• Kills – Samantha Wunsch, Maggie Walsh (13)
• Assists – Ryann Torres (28)
• Service Aces – Alyssa Ortega (1)
• Blocks – Zenai Jethroe (8)
• Digs – Alyssa Ortega (20)

SCORES BY SET

• 1st | Texas State 25, ULM 22
• 2nd | ULM 25, Texas State 23
• 3rd | Texas State 25, ULM 13
• 4th | Texas State 25, ULM 16

 
MATCH NOTES

• The Bobcats improve to 9-4 on the season and 2-0 in Sun Belt Conference play with the win over ULM. 
• Maggie Walsh had her third career double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs. Her first career double-double was exactly one year prior versus ULM where she had 12 kills and 14 digs.
• Head coach Sean Huiet sits at 84 career wins, with an 84-32 record in his four-year tenure at Texas State. He has a 45-5 record in Sun Belt Conference games.

UP NEXT:
The Bobcats will head to Virginia for a rematch of the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Championship with James Madison on Sept. 28 and 29.
 
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