Texas State Advances to Southland Finals in Four-set Thriller
SAN ANTONIO - A solid team effort by Texas State advances the Bobcats to the Southland Conference Championship match, after a 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 28-26, 26-24) victory over Lamar today in the first semifinals match of the day at the Convocation Center in San Antonio.
Melinda Cave registered her fourth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 13 digs. Shelbi Irvin also notched a double-double as she tallied 21 assists and 14 digs for her seventh of the season.
Mo Middleton led Texas State with 16 kills and eight digs, while senior outside hitter Jessica Weynand collected 10 kills and nine digs.
Defense was the key for the Texas State front line as they created a brick wall against Lamar totaling 11 blocks in the opening set. The Bobcat defense registered three blocks in the first eight points to go up 8-4 forcing the Cardinals to take a timeout. Texas State went up by five, before Lamar recorded back-to-back blocks to come to within three.
A Bobcat attack error brought Lamar to within one at the 11-10 mark, but two kills by Melinda Cave ended that run. The two teams traded points and a Jillian Wolpman solo block gave Texas State and added charge as they went up 20-16.
Cave and Mo Middleton gathered two kills each, combined with a Cardinal set ball handling error to win the first set 25-18. Texas State hit .238 to Lamar's .027.
Lamar came out energized to start the second as they went on a 6-0 run to stun the Bobcats. Amber Calhoun nailed a kill down the middle to end the run, but the Cardinals stayed one step ahead of Texas State for the first half of the set.
Lamar senior Adrianne Meengs led the Lady Cardinals with 15 kills, 35 assists and had 19 digs posting her league-leading fourth triple-double of the season.
Texas State came to within three at 13-16, but errors haunted the Bobcats in the second half of the set. Adrienne Meengs headed the Cardinal offense who hit .222, holding Texas State to .000. The Cardinals won the set 25-16, tying the match at 1-all.
Momentum swung in the Bobcats favor in the third. Having to beat the Cardinals in extra points, Texas State won the set 28-26. Both teams were statistically similar for three-fourths of the set, but Texas State carried the weight on its back for the long haul.
The third set saw 15 ties and six lead changes as Texas State hit .317 and Lamar hit .178.
Texas State propelled in the fourth as they recorded 16 kills on .229 hitting. The fourth was almost identical to the third set, as Texas State won 26-24 as they advance to the championship match tomorrow versus the winner of the Stephen F. Austin and Nicholls match slated for 4:00pm today.
The major difference on the box score is that Texas State out blocked Lamar 29 to 12. Texas State hit .198 with 57 kills and 77 digs. The Cardinals hit .149, with 54 kills and 78 digs. Lamar was led by Adrianne Meengs who registered 15 kills and 19 digs. Jayme Bazile recorded 11 kills and four block assists.
Tomorrow's championship match will begin at 2:00pm and will be televised by the Southland Conference Television Network.
Ticket prices for a day session are $8 for an adult and $5 youths. There is no charge for Southland Conference students with a valid institutional I.D.
Post Match Quotes
Texas State Coach Karen Chisum
"I'm excited and proud of our ladies, they really battled. We could have folded after set two. It was set three where we were done, but we came back to win it. They really fought and our fans were good. We may not have played our best, but we played hard when we had to, to get the point."
Texas State Junior Mo Middleton
"We stayed calm. We had some sporadic moments, but in the third and fourth sets we managed to keep our composure."
Texas State Senior Jessica Weynand
"We knew it was going to be a good game. We stayed calm and didn't panic. We came back and knew what we had to do. We just had high energy. Coach told us to stay calm and play with heart, and that's exactly what we came back and did."
Lamar Coach Justin Gibert
"It felt like this was the championship match. The last two sets were very tight and were extended. Not taking anything away from the other teams, but I feel like this may have been the best match of the tournament."
"It's always a horse race when we play Texas State. Whoever has the better offense usually prevails, and they were a little better offensively then us today. We just needed a ball to fall our way and it didn't."
"(Adrianne) Meengs was phenomenal and is the superstar of the tournament. She makes so many things happen for us. She's going to be an incredible loss for our program."
"I was pleased with how the team played. We have a lot of young talent, with 10 either freshman or redshirt freshman on the roster, and this was a good experience for them. Even though we some good players, I think the program is heading in the right direction."