FOLEY, Alabama — Texas State volleyball advances to the Sun Belt Championship after a win over the App State Mountaineers on Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats eliminated the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt East Division in three sets to return to the Sun Belt Championship for the seventh time in the last eight years.
Texas State had an effective block versus the Mountaineers, out-blocking App State 13-3 through three sets. Highlighting that was seven blocks from
Bailey Hanner. Additionally, MJ McCurdy had a great night with seven kills and five service aces, including two back-to-back to win set two.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
From the start of set one, Texas State was effective at limiting the Mountaineer attack. Texas State limited App State to just 12 kills and they tallied 11 errors in the first set alone. The Bobcats 6.0 blocks and eight kills were enough to win them the first set 25-18. The Mountaineers had no blocks in the first set, which was the difference maker for the Bobcats to win the set.
Set two was back and forth between the two sides. There were 12 tied scores and five lead changes, it truly could have been anyone's set. The Bobcats found themselves down early on, being down by as many as five at one point. From there, though, the Bobcats battled back to tie things at 10-10 and keep themselves in the set. The two sides matched points until the final stages of the set. App State held the Bobcats and forced the match into extra points, with things tied at 24-24. That's when freshman standout McCurdy came up to serve, serving back-to-back aces to win the set. Despite App State earning the first set point, Texas State was able to win the set off McCurdy's serve.
The third set was all Bobcats all the way through. The Bobcats went out to a 5-0 start to the set and kept it rolling from there, App State was able to bring the match within two points at the midway point, but another run from the Bobcats extended their lead back out to 19-13 late in the set. From there, the Bobcats forced the Mountaineers into errors to get their last few points. At the end of the match, a challenge call by head coach
Sean Huiet overturned a call to give the Mountaineers an attack error and the Bobcats won set three.
Texas State now sits at 21-8 on the season and have a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Championship on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 3 pm.
STAT LEADERS
Kills – Sam Wunsch (8)
Assists –
Ryann Torres (30)
Blocks –
Bailey Hanner (7)
Digs –
Alyssa Ortega (12)
Service aces – MJ McCurdy (5)
SCORES BY SET
1st | Texas State 25, App State 18
2nd | Texas State 26, App State 24
3rd | Texas State 25, App State 18
UP NEXT
Texas State will advance to the Sun Belt Championship on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 3 pm. The Bobcats will wait to find out their opponent, which will be the winner of the game between Arkansas State and Georgia Southern.
FOLLOW US
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