Texas State volleyball defeated the Little Rock Trojans 3-1 (27-25, 25-20, 21-25, 28-26) Oct. 23 at Strahan Arena.
The Bobcats remain undefeated in conference play (8-0), increasing their win streak to 10 games.
A handful of errors by the Bobcats kept the Trojans close in the first set. Junior outside hitter Kenedi Rutherford showed consistency and aggression throughout the first set. Tied at 6-6, Texas State’s junior setter Emily DeWalt set up senior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott for a kill to spark a 3-0 run. Texas State would hold the lead for the rest of the set.
The Trojans had a short series of serve-receive errors that allowed Texas State to increase the lead 12-7. The Bobcats went on to win the set 27-25.
Texas State started the second set with more momentum, leaving the Trojans fighting to come back. Redshirt junior outside hitter/right-side hitter Nedima Kamberovic hit the ball into the net, which gave Texas State a five-point lead with 7-3 score at the beginning of the second set. Moments later, redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lauren Teske and Scott blocked a big swing from Little Rock’s junior outside hitter Laura Jansen, which kept Texas State in the lead, 8-3. Texas State won the second set 25-20.
In the third set, the Trojans were able to get ahead early after a service error from junior middle blocker Jillian Slaughter. The Trojans were able to find empty spaces on the court. DeWalt looked to set up junior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald more toward the end of the set to great effect, leaving Trojan junior libero Livia Kimura struggling to get a touch on the ball.
The DeWalt/Fitzgerald combo could not make up for early mistakes by the Bobcats as the Trojans won the third set 25-21.
Texas State came back with intensity to win in the fourth and final set. The set was close, with the Bobcats and Trojans tying eight times. The two teams had several long rallies in the set, including a long possession that provided several blocks and tough digs by both sides until a Little Rock error gave the point to the Bobcats to make the score 9-4.
Texas State would win the set 28-26, securing its second victory of the day against the Trojans.
The Trojans had 57 kills and 68 digs total, while Texas State totaled 68 kills and 74 digs.
DeWalt was the top assist leader of the night with a career-high 64 assists. With this performance, DeWalt moves to #5 on Texas State’s all-time assists leaderboard. DeWalt ranks #2 in the NCAA with 463 assists.
Fitzgerald led Texas State with 23 kills and a .541 hitting percentage. DeWalt and Fitzgerald displayed their chemistry as Fitzgerald was on the receiving end of many DeWalt assists throughout the night.
Scott was the second-leading scorer of the night with 17 kills, followed by Slaughter with 11. Junior libero Kayla Granado led the team with 22 digs.
Texas State will play Little Rock for the final game of the series at 1 p.m. on Oct. 24 in Strahan Arena. The game will broadcast on ESPN+.