Texas State Wins Its 13th Consecutive Conference Match
Texas State 3, Southeastern Louisiana 0
HAMMOND, La. - The Texas State volleyball team added to its Southland Conference winning streak on Saturday afternoon in Hammond, La., when the Bobcats defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 3-0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-13), to make it 13 straight wins in league play.
The Bobcats will head back to San Marcos after a successful road trip to Louisiana that featured a 3-1 win over Nicholls for the program's 1,000th win before the team picked up its 1,001st win on Saturday with the team's 12th sweep of the season.
Texas State improved to 22-7 overall this season and 13-1 in the Southland Conference with the win, while Southeastern Louisiana dropped to 5-25, 1-13 SLC. The Bobcats are tied for the lead in the conference with UTSA with just two matches remaining in the regular season - one of which will come against UTSA next week.
The team's next action will be a pivotal Southland Conference showdown against UTSA in San Antonio on Thursday, November 10 between the top two teams in the conference standings. The Bobcats and Roadrunners will begin their I-35 Rivalry Series match at 6:30 p.m.
For a complete recap, click here.
UTSA 3, Stephen F. Austin 1
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - UTSA rebounded from its first loss in Southland Conference play to defeat Stephen F. Austin by the scores of 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22 on Saturday afternoon at Shelton Gym.
The Roadrunners (19-9, 13-1 SLC) won their final regular season road match after improving their offensive play to claim the final two sets.
Redshirt junior Kelsey Schwirtlich tallied a match-high 55 assists and helped three Roadrunners reach double-digit kills - juniors Whitney Walls (16) and Brittney Malloy (10) and sophomore McKenzie Adams (11).
Adams posted nine blocks (two solos/seven assists) to help UTSA hold its 11th opponent of the season under a .100 hitting percentage.
Stephen F. Austin (13-16, 6-8 SLC) was limited to a .085 hitting percentage as three Roadrunners earned double-digit digs, including senior Kelsey Jewasko who netted a match-high 20.
UTSA will close out the regular season with a pair of matches at the Convocation Center next week, starting with Texas State at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10.
For a complete recap, click here.
Lamar 3, Central Arkansas 1
BEAUMONT, Texas - With the Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament just over a week away, Lamar University secured its spot in the eight-team field Saturday at McDonald Gym with a convincing 3-1 (25-21, 25-10, 20-25, 25-21) victory over Central Arkansas.
Lamar (10-19) pulled even with the Sugar Bears (14-14) in the East Division as both teams now stand at 8-6 in conference play. The Lady Cardinals have two matches remaining before heading to the tournament, hosting Sam Houston State on Thursday (Nov. 10) before closing the regular season at home against Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 12.
Redshirt sophomore Megan Schwartz was moved to libero for Saturday's match and responded with a career-high 19 digs, leading all players. Lamar would finish with a 49-34 advantage in digs.
Taylor Hammonds led UCA with 11 kills, committing just one attack error on her way to hitting .556 for the match. Jessica Nagy added 10 kills, and Cristin Curl led the team with 10 digs.
For a complete recap, click here.
McNeese State 3, Northwestern State 1
LAKE CHARLES, La. - McNeese State's volleyball team won its third consecutive match here Saturday with a four set victory (3-1) over Northwestern State 25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23 to improve to 10-18 overall and 5-9 in league play. The match was the second consecutive four set victory in a row as the Cowgirls upset Central Arkansas Thursday night by the same score.
McNeese took a 2-0 overall match lead with victories in the first two sets but Northwestern State avoided the straight set loss with a 25-23 third set win. The Cowgirls closed out the match with a 25-23 fourth set win.
McNeese senior middle blocker Nicole Bowden led all players with a match high 21 kills and a .444 attack percent. Bowden was also credited with six blocks and three digs. Also recording double figure kills for the Cowgirls was freshman Rachel Cagnina who ended the match with a double-double (12 kills, 10 digs). Senior Katie Kennedy led all players with a match high 25 digs while setter Becky Bekelja dished out a match high 53 assists to go along with her 11 digs.
The Cowgirls will conclude its regular season next week with a 7 p.m. match against Stephen F. Austin Thursday night and a 2 p.m. match against Sam Houston State Saturday.
Sam Houston State 3, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - In their final home match at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum, seniors Carli Kolbe, Kim Black and Kym Loving led the Bearkats to a 25-22 19-25 25-11 24-26 15-10 victory over Texas A&M Corpus Christi Saturday afternoon.
Kolbi led both teams with 24 kills. Black added 10 kills and seven blocks. Loving assisted on 59 of Sam Houston's 66 kills, totaled seven digs and had a hand in seven of the team's 15 blocks.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was led by Shannon Hullum and Brooke Alverson who both collected 12 kills.
Sam Houston upped its season record to 15-12 and stands 9-5 in Southland Conference action. The Islanders fell to 13-18 for the year and 5-9 in league action.
Kaylee Hawkins and Kendall Cleveland also totaled double figure kills, Hawkins with 11 and Cleveland with 10.
The Bearkats had a match point at 24-22 in the fourth set, but the Islanders rallied to win four straight points and force a fifth frame. Sam Houston is 4-1 in five-setters this season.
Tayler Gray led the BEarkat defense with 18 digs. Hawkins added 13.
Nicholls State 3, UT Arlington 2
THIBODAUX, La. - Desperate for a win and looking to go out as winners on their home court, the Nicholls women's volleyball team matched up well with the Texas-Arlington Mavericks, and although they needed five sets the Colonels defeated UTA 3-2 (25-27, 25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 15-11) Saturday afternoon in Thibodaux.
The match served as senior day for the Colonels (18-12, 5-9 SLC), as the team honored seniors Rachel Yezak and Jordan Karst, and it would be Yezak who not only closed the door on the Mavs (11-17, 7-7 SLC) to win the match, but led the team with 18 kills and 20 digs on the afternoon. The 18 kills are one shy of her career best and the 20 digs is the fourth 20-dig match of the year. Yezak also surpassed 1100 digs in her career during the match.
Karst finished the match with 33 assists to lead the team in that category, as midway through the second set she tallied her 1700th kill of her career moving her closer to getting into the top five all-time in Nicholls history.
For a complete recap, click here.