SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State Volleyball pushed Washington State to four sets on Saturday but came up just short in the 3-1 loss.
Two Bobcats (7-10 overall, 2-4 Pac-12) finished in double figure kills: junior
Caelyn Robel tallied a team-high 15 while redshirt freshman
Ashley Euston picked up 10 on the day. The Cougars (7-8 overall, 2-3 Pac-12) took the match with a .255 [60-23-145] hitting percentage to Texas State's .187 while also besting the home team at the service line, 7-3.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: 21-25
A first set that took almost an hour in San Marcos was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Cougars emerge victorious. The first frame saw the score tied a total of 11 times, and the lead changed three times as both teams were evenly matched offensively with 13 kills for the Bobcats and 14 for the Cougars. Robel led the Bobcats with five kills on a .333 [5-2-9] hitting percentage while Texas State combined for four blocks led by Euston with three.
Set 2: 25-22
Texas State bounced back in a big way in the second set, improving from a .162 hitting clip in the first to a match-best .257 in the second. Washington State tallied more kills than Texas State, but their 10 attacking errors proved costly as the Bobcats only recorded five. Robel erupted on offense in the second frame with a team-high seven kills. Euston added another two kills to her total while fifth year
India Bennett and sophomore
Peyton McKee recorded two kills each. The redshirt freshman also added another two blocks to her count, including a solo block, to bring her total to five through two sets.
Set 3: 19-25
The Cougars limited their attacking errors to just two in the third frame to help take the set with a .519 [16-2-27] hitting clip. Aiding their efficiency on offense was a 65% sideout percentage to Texas State's 50% to prevent the Bobcats from building any offensive momentum. Both teams were evenly matched at the service line with three service aces each, but Washington State was the better squad at the net with 2.5 blocks to Texas State's two. Euston went a perfect 4-for-4 at the net to tally an additional four kills while senior
Brooke Bentke and Bennett added three each. Bennett also recorded a solo block and combined with Bentke for the other.
Set 4: 17-25
Washington State took complete control of the match in the fourth set, besting the Bobcats in every major statistical category. Six different Bobcat attackers made offensive contributions, led by Bennett with four kills. Just behind Bennett was Euston with three kills and Robel recorded two. McKee, Bentke, and Onuorah all tallied one kill each. Both Bennett and freshman
Janet Onuorah combined for the sole block of the set.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Sean Huiet on the Loss
"Yeah, just disappointed. Again, I feel like I keep saying the same thing over and over: it is a revolving door. We have no consistency and that's on me, and we have to figure that part out, but we're running out of time. Just disappointed in how we showed up but we have to move on quickly."
NOTABLES
- Caelyn Robel posted her second-highest kills total this season with 15.
- Saturday marks the second-straight match the Bobcats finished in double-digit blocks (11).
- Anna Blaine turned in the seventh double-double of her career with 12 digs and 18 assists.
- Both Ashley Euston and India Bennett tallied five blocks for the second-straight match.
- Three different Bobcats finished in double figures in digs: Brooke Bentke (10), Jasmine Purakal (11), and Anna Blaine (12).
- Jasmine Purakal's 11 digs marks the 47th match of her career with 10 or more digs.
- Four solo blocks tied the season-high, tying with their four-block solo performance against UTSA on Sept. 19.
UP NEXT
The Bobcats host Oregon State on Oct. 14 at the Strahan Arena in San Marcos, Texas. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 YouTube channel.
