Texas State Avoids Upset, Beats Central Arkansas in Five Sets
CONWAY, Ark. - In the last semifinal match of the 2011 Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament, No. 1 seed Texas State avoided the late charge from No. 4 seed Central Arkansas, 3-2 (25-18, 30-28, 23-25, 21-25, 16-14), to fend off the upset and advance to the championship match at the Farris Center in Conway, Ark. The Bobcats improve to 26-7 on the year and while the Sugar Bears finish at 17-15.
Texas State recorded a team hitting percentage of .394 in the opening set to win, 25-18. The Bobcats controlled the set from the start and never trailed the Sugar Bears. The Bobcats had four players who hits .375 or better in the set with conference player of the year Amber Calhoun (.750), Ashlee Hilbun (.500), Amari Deardorff (.429) and Lindy DeGeare. Hilbun also contributed with four kills, four digs and one block assist. Freshman Scout Brooks lead the Sugar Bears' offense attack with five kills.
Texas State fought off two UCA set points and finally converted of its fourth set point attempt to claim the 30-28 win. The two teams were within two points of one another the entire set, but it was the Bobcats that took advantage of their opportunities late in the set. Calhoun, the senior middle blocker for Texas State, had seven kills on eight attempts for a .875 hitting percentage for the set. She also added two digs and one block assist. UCA's Brooks almost matched Calhoun's performance with six kills on eight attempts for a .625 attack percentage.
The third set was as hard fought as the second as both teams battling throughout, but this time the Sugar Bears capitalized on their set point to win, 25-23. With the score tied 20-20, the 13th tie of the set, UCA won the next two points to give it the late advantage. Freshman Alicia Dittrich notched seven kills on nine attempts for a .667 hitting percentage in the set for UCA. Setter Marissa Collins dished out 18 assists for the Sugars Bears while libero Cristin Curl recorded eight digs. The Bobcats were led by second-team all-conference member Melissa Toth, who hit for .625 with five kills and two block assists.
UCA rallied behind the crowded in the fourth set to win, 25-21. The Sugar Bears led most of the set but never more than three points; however, every time the Bobcats closed within a point late in the set, the Sugar Bears had an answer. UCA's defense held Texas State to a .097 hitting percentage for the set. Dittrich contributed with another high hitting percentage (.750) with her three kills on four attempts. Toth added five kills for Texas State on the set while Hilbun recorded four block assists and one block solo in the set.
Texas State rallied from 9-12 down in the final set to score five of the final seven points to win the decisive set, 16-14. Calhoun recorded her only kill of the set to seal the match for the Bobcats in a match in which both teams battled until the end.
Texas State advances to the championship match tomorrow at 2 p.m. for a chance to earn the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The Bobcats will face the defending tournament champions UTSA in a battle of the tournament's top two seeds. During the two regular season matches between the two schools, the two schools split with UTSA winning 3-0 on Sept. 22, and the Bobcats winning 3-1 on Nov. 10. The Bobcats will try to become the first team to win the regular season and conference tournament since Stephen F. Austin accomplished the feat in 2006. The match will be televised by the Southland Conference Television Network to more than 20 markets in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, plus worldwide on ESPN3.com. Visit southland.org/television for a list of affiliates.
Postgame quotes
Central Arkansas head coach David McFatrich
On tonight's match...
"I'm so proud of this team. I can't tell you how proud I am of this team. If the faculty and staff and students of UCA had any idea what these players overcame this year to get wit in a point to go to the SLC finals they would crown them as champs and that's what I feel like doing. To me they are champions."
"We just took a team that won 15 matches in a row, came in 1st in the conference and to be honest with you-we could have easily won this match in four and we had shots to win it in five. I'm extremely proud. I've been calling them champs since the first day of practice and to be honest with you they are."
On what he told his team after the second set...
"I told them there is a lot of volleyball left-- I said that at every timeout and every break. I said it 100 times between the end of the second game and the end of the match. They won the third and fourth game could have easily won the fifth. They believed it. It's a neat feeling as a coach that when you say something to your kids they believe you."
"Taylor Hammonds went off and led our three headed attack tonight. Dittrich and Scout Brooks also went off. They shut down Nagy a little bit, but to be quite honest- we don't get within a swing of winning that match without Jessica Nagy. I can't imagine a greater bunch of battling Bears. The entire athletic department can be proud of them."
On the crowd...
"What an amazing crowd these last two nights. I just want to give a huge thank you to the entire crowd, all the baseball players, soccer team, alumni-we had people drive from 15 hours away. I had no idea they were coming tonight. What an amazing group of fans we have. They are a big part of this program. We grew to love the Farris Center in the last few days. It was remarkable."