Texas State volleyball (13-7, 6-3 Sun Belt Conference) defeated the University of South Alabama (17-4, 8-1 Sun Belt Conference) in a three-set sweep Friday night at Strahan Arena in the first match of a two-match series.   

Texas State won the third set 25-17, with graduate student outside hitter K.J. Johnson registering 16 kills and seven digs to help put away the Jaguars. 

Sophomore middle blocker Bailey Hanner led the team with six blocks to go along with five kills and one ace. 

“We have been working hard this week,” Texas State head coach Sean Huiet said. “I’ve said it a lot; this group is locked in. They’ve done a great job following the scouting report of what we want to do. I’m super proud of how our team came out and competed, and we made a statement from the start.”

Texas State won the first set 25-20 and the second set 25-22, respectively. Despite the Jaguars’ attempts to rally, the Bobcats managed to emerge victorious.  

 South Alabama fifth-year outside hitter Hannah Maddux led the Jaguars offensively with 14 kills, four digs and two aces. 

Defensively, Texas State dominated with 14 total blocks compared to South Alabama’s four, which ultimately shut down the Jaguars’ offense allowing Texas State to gain momentum throughout the match.

The loss marked the end of South Alabama’s eight-game win streak and gave the team its first conference loss of the season, something Texas State had on its mind entering the match, according to Hanner.

“We were really hyped to play this team,” Hanner said. “We are both [the] top teams in our side of the Sun Belt right now, but we stuck to our game plan and they didn’t know what to do.”   

Texas State will look to complete the sweep against the Jaguars in the second match of the series. 

The second match between Texas State and South Alabama is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 21, at Strahan Arena. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.