CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas State Volleyball dropped a five-set match to UTEP on Thursday.
The Bobcats (1-2 overall) finished the night with a .138 hitting percentage thanks to a season-high 45 kills behind sophomore
Isabella Andrews who finished in double-digits at 10. The Miners (2-1 overall) ultimately bested the Bobcats with a .231 hitting percentage and nine blocks to Texas State's seven.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: 27-25
Texas State took advantage of five UTEP setting errors and three service errors to help push them to the first set victory. Senior
Brooke Bentke led the Bobcats with three kills while fellow fourth-year
Ally Adair and sophomore
Peyton McKee both tallied two kills each. At the net, Andrews recorded the only block of the set with a solo effort. Junior
Camryn Kimes helped Texas State at the service line with two service aces and a perfect reception percentage.
Set 2: 25-19
The second set was the Bobcats' best as five of the six attackers posted at least two kills each. McKee led the way with three while Adair, Bentke, Bennett, and Andrews all recorded two. Texas State posted two blocks to UTEP's zero while also scoring on 15 of their 20 chances from UTEP for a 75% sideout percentage to maintain offensive momentum. Fifth-year
Jasmine Purakal posted five digs and eight of the 10 players participating in the set recorded at least one dig. Fifth-year
India Bennett was also responsible for the two blocks with two solos.
Set 3: 25-22
UTEP jumped to an early 7-2 lead in the third and despite Texas State tying the score five times, the Miners never relinquished the lead. Andrews led the Bobcats' offense with four kills while McKee posted the best hitting percentage at .429 [3-0-7]. Both Adair and Bennett posted solo blocks and Purakal was responbile for the lone service ace in the set.
Set 4: 25-12
The fourth set was the most dominant for the Miners as the Bobcats were limited to only four kills. Andrews, Bentke, Blaine, and Adair all recorded one kill each. Texas State tallied two blocks during the set, with McKee posting one solo effort while Bentke and Adair were responsible for the other.
Set 5: 15-10
In the final set of the night, UTEP took the match after besting the Bobcats at the net, three blocks to Texas State's zero. The Bobcats tied the set at 1-1 and 2-2, but a 4-1 run from the Miners put distance between the two teams that Texas State could not overcome. Andrews led with two kills while Bentke was responsible for the single service ace.
FROM HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET
"We saw glimpses of how good this team can be. UTEP is a very well-coached team and a great program. We had our chances to take the match in three sets and just didn't capitalize. We need to learn from this and be prepared for another match versus a really good UTRGV team."
NOTABLES
- The Bobcats are now 13-9 overall against the Miners and 2-2 when playing on neutral territory.
- Isabella Andrews posted her first double-digit performance of her career with 10 kills. Andrews finished the night with 10 kills on a .280 hitting percentage and recorded one block and seven digs.
- Both Jasmine Purakal and Brooke Bentke posted double-digit digs with 19 and 10, respectively.
- India Bennett led at the net with three blocks and Jasmine Purakal led at the service line with three service aces.
UP NEXT
The Bobcats will continue their time in Corpus Christi, Texas with a match against UTRGV on Friday, Sept, 4. First serve is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT.
