SAN MARCOS, Texas — Texas State volleyball rotated its personnel and rebounded back from a tough loss to get a clean sweep over Incarnate Word in its Texas State Invitational finale on Saturday evening.

Two Bobcats, Ally Adair and Caelyn Emmerling, saw their first starts of the 2025 season while freshman Britton Finley got her third start of the season alongside Jade Defraeye, Nina Moorer and Anna Blaine as the Bobcats took on a new look against the Cardinals.

Texas State would go on to have a season-best digging night as well as 50+ kills in a three set match for the first time this season en route to a 3-0 win.

WHAT HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET SAID: "I'm super proud of the bounce back we had. We struggled a little bit after what we did Thursday night. Last night, too, we weren't happy with our performance, so we challenge them a little bit today. One of the things we've been stressing is that we want to be hard to score on, and I think our defense did really really good tonight. To dig 76 balls in a three-set match is big time. Really proud of how we bounced back today to get back on the winning way."

WHAT OUTSIDE HITTER NINA MOORER SAID: "It's good to see we have that grit. We have that fight in us. To be able to bounce back after that. [Sean Huiet] was challenging us with that today and the fact that some of our younger kids were able to come in and do that today, it's really fun to see."

WHAT SETTER ANNA BLAINE SAID: "That win gave us a lot of confidence going into next weekend. We have a really big matchup [coming up] so I think it puts us in a good place."

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Through the early goings of the match, it was a close affair with the two teams. Texas State went on a run from the media time out to take a 14-12 lead and turn it into an 18-12 lead late in the set. From there, Incarnate Word tried to battle back at the end, but ultimately Texas State was able to edge out the win by a 26-24 scoreline. Caelyn Emmerling played a big role in the first set, leading both sides with six kills on 12 swings. That, alongside three team blocks for the Bobcats helped them earn the win in set one.

Set two was more of a back-and-forth affair with 10 tied scores and two lead changes, but Texas State was able to come out on top in the end. Despite never holding more than a three-point lead throughout the set, Texas State won the set with help from 16 kills, four from freshman Adison Ozuna alone. A service error from Incarnate Word's Kitana Tuufuli gave Texas State the 25-23 win.

Throughout the third set, Texas State had the upper hand most of the way through. Despite the score tying up at 16 midways through, Texas State went on a 4-0 run then to five themselves the cushion they needed at the end of the set. A kill from Ally Adair would call the match, Texas State winning set three 25-21.

Texas State named Jade Defraeye and Anna Blaine to the all-tournament team for the Texas State Invitational. Texas State is now 4-4 on the season.

STAT LEADERS

• Kills – Nina Moorer, Caelyn Emmerling (10)
• Assists – Anna Blaine (40)
• Blocks – Ally Adair, Jade Defraeye (5)
• Digs – Brooke Bentke (18)

SCORES BY SET

• 1st | Texas State 26, Incarnate Word 24
• 2nd | Texas State 25, Incarnate Word 23
• 3rd | Texas State 25, Incarnate Word 21

MATCH NOTES

• Texas State dug a season-best 76 balls, the first time Texas State has had more than 75 digs in a match since a four-setter vs South Alabama on Oct. 11, 2024.
• Anna Blaine had a career best 15 digs in her double-double which included 40 assists, her three-set career best.
• Ally Adair had a career best six kills and five blocks.
• Brooke Bentke had the first double-digit dig night of her career with 18 digs.
• Freshman Adison Ozuna had a career best eight kills.
• Nina Moorer tied her career-best with five blocks.
• Freshman Britton Finley had a career-best 13 digs.
• Alyssa Clark tied her career best with 14 digs.
   

UP NEXT
Texas State will head on the road for its final weekend of non-conference action at the Stanford Tournament. Texas State will face UCLA, Hawaii and the hosts Stanford in the tournament running Sept. 19-21. The first of the three matches will be the Bobcats vs UCLA on Sept. 19 at 6 pm (CT)  / 4 pm (PT). 

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.