Texas State volleyball’s (18-8,11-4 Sun Belt Conference) eight-match winning streak and hopes of a share of the conference title came to an end after a four-set loss to Coastal Carolina University (19-8,14-1 Sun Belt Conference) Thursday night at Strahan Arena.
The previous time these two teams faced each other was last season’s two-match conference series in which Texas State swept 2-0.
Coastal Carolina won the opening set 25-22 behind a dominant defensive performance. The Chanticleers had 17 blocks to Texas State’s 12. The Bobcats responded in the second set, winning 25-15 to tie the match at 1-1.
Texas State sophomore middle blocker Bailey Hanner posted five of her team-high nine blocks in the set, while graduate student outsider hitter K.J. Johnson had five kills.
The Chanticleers won the third set 25-21 despite Johnson’s and redshirt freshman outside hitter Samantha Wunsch’s best efforts. Johnson had three kills in the set, while Wunsch added five. Both Johnson and Wunsch finished the match with a team-high 14 kills and a combined 10 blocks.
The fourth set was closely contested throughout; however, Coastal Carolina emerged victorious 25-22 to win the match 3-1. Freshman setter Jalyn Stout led the way for the Chanticleers with a final stat line of 16 kills, 18 assists and 16 digs.
The win clinches Coastal Carolina its first outright conference title since 2020 and denies the Bobcats a share. Texas State needed to sweep the series in order to be crowned co-champions.
“I don’t know if it was the pressure of playing for a championship,” Texas State Head Coach Sean Huiet said. “We’ve got to adjust and be ready to come back tomorrow because that’s a match we’ve got to get back.”
Texas State will attempt to bounce back in the second match of the series Friday on senior night.
The match between Texas State and Coastal Carolina is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, at Strahan Arena. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
