Texas State volleyball began its 2024 season at the Rice Invitational going 2-1 at the Rice Invitational at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston this past weekend, defeating Houston Christian University and Texas Southern University, but falling to the host school, Rice University.
Match One: Texas State v. Houston Christian
The matchup between the Bobcats and the Huskies was a five-set thriller that ultimately saw Texas State prevail 3-2.
Set one was as back-and-forth as they come, with 11 ties and three lead changes. It took a while for either team to pull away from the other. Junior and redshirt sophomore outside hitters Maggie Walsh and Samantha Wunsch, respectively, led the team with four kills each in the first set. However, HCU pulled away and took the first set from the Bobcats 25-19.
Set two was equally competitive as the two squads traded points with each other for the majority of the set. With the score tied late in the set, the Bobcats went on a 7-4 run to win set two 25-22 and avoid falling into the 2-0 hole.
The Huskies reversed the score in set three, taking it by a score of 25-22 and going up 2-1 on Texas State. Unable to drop another set, the Bobcats pinned their ears back and ran away with the fourth set by a score of 25-17.
With the match on the line, both teams played well in the fifth set, but the Bobcats outlasted the Huskies and took set five by a tally of 15-12, claiming the victory.
Match Two: Texas State v. Texas Southern
Even with a five-setter already in the books from earlier on the same day, the Bobcats showed no sign of fatigue in match two against TSU as they rolled to a 3-1 victory.
Texas State jumped out to an early lead, going up by as much as 7 points on Texas Southern. The Bobcats held it down from there and took set one 25-15. Freshman outside hitter M.J. McCurdy continued her impressive season-opening campaign with four kills in the set after leading the team in kills in the previous match against HCU.
Set two began much more competitively than set one did, but after knotting the score at six-all, the Bobcats didn’t trail again. Led by stellar serving, Texas State took the second set by a tally of 25-19.
Texas Southern found a way to rally and claim set three 25-18, but Texas State dominated in set four to close out the match, winning the deciding set 25-13.
Match Three: Texas State v. Rice
In its third and final match of the weekend, Texas State fell to the host team for its first loss of the young season. Rice limited Texas State’s offensive attack and made quick work of the Bobcats, winning 3-0. Texas State’s 21 errors, combined with a hitting percent of only .103, spelled doom for hopes of a perfect weekend on the road.
With the Bobcats mustering only seven kills, Rice ran away with the first set by a tally of 25-14. The second set showed much of the same, as the Owls dominated set two, taking advantage of Texas State errors and winning by the same score of 25-14.
Although it looked like Rice may once again run away with the third set after going up by nine points late, Texas State made it respectable and nearly pulled off the third set comeback. Despite being out-killed by the Bobcats, the Owls weathered Texas State’s comeback attempt to take the third set 25-22, claiming the match victory.
The Bobcats will return to action this week for the latest edition of the I-35 rivalry when they make the short drive to San Antonio for a match against the University of Texas – San Antonio.
The match time between Texas State and UTSA is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4 at the Convocation Center in San Antonio. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
