FOLEY, Alabama — Texas State volleyball advances to the Sun Belt Tournament semi-finals after a sweep over the James Madison Dukes to open the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
 
The win marks the Bobcats 20^th of the year, making this the Bobcats ninth consecutive season reaching 20 wins on the year. Additionally, the Bobcats have made it to the semi-finals of every tournament since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2013.
 
On its way to the win, the Bobcats offense swung effectively for a season-best .482 with 45 kills on 83 attempts to silence the Dukes. Highlighting that showing was flawless nights from Sam Wunsch and MJ McCurdy as they went for 15 and 12 kills each with no errors.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Texas State started off the match with a 4-0 streak. The Dukes were able to tie it up at 5-5 after that, but the Bobcats never trailed in the set. After the tied score early on, Texas State went on a run to make it a 10-6 score. From there, it was all Bobcats through to the end of the set. The Bobcats three aces were the difference maker in the set to give the Bobcats the space they needed. From there, effective swinging of .414 and five kills from Wunsch pushed the Bobcats to a 25-18 win in the first set.
 
The two sides started out close in the early goings of the second set. With things tied at 10-10, Texas State went on a run. Pushing themselves out to a 17-11 lead highlighted by a serve run from Alyssa Ortega, the Bobcats were able to put the set away. Despite going back and forth in the latter half of the set, the Dukes couldn't overcome the deficit and Texas State took set two 25-17.
 
Set three was similar to the second set and was close early on, until the Bobcats dug in deep to go on a run. Texas State took the score from 13-11 to 21-11 with a serve run by Ortega that included big time blocks by Bailey Hanner, Maggie Walsh and Jade Defraeye. The block, paired with six kills from McCurdy put the match out of reach for the Dukes. 
 
Texas State completed its 13^th sweep of the season to advance to the semi-finals of the 2024 Sun Belt Tournament. 

STAT LEADERS

• Kills – Sam Wunsch (15)
• Assists – Ryann Torres (32)
• Blocks – Bailey Hanner (4)
• Digs – Alyssa Ortega (11)

 
SCORES BY SET

• 1st | Texas State 25, James Madison 18
• 2nd | Texas State 25, James Madison 17
• 3rd | Texas State 25, James Madison 14

UP NEXT
Texas State will wait to find out who they play tomorrow, which will be the winner of the game between App State and Georgia State. The Bobcats will play at 2 pm with the match streamed on ESPN+.

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