Texas State volleyball lost in conference play for the first time this season after failing to secure a victory on the road against the University of South Alabama this weekend. The Bobcats lost in four sets on Friday night and subsequently lost in four sets again on Saturday, leaving Mobile winless.
Match one
Texas State shot themselves in the foot in set one, committing 15 total errors, leaving the door open for South Alabama to cruise in the opening set. Only having to put away 10 points to go along with the Bobcats’ 15 errors, South Alabama was able to handle set one relatively quickly, winning it 25-18.
Texas State’s lone set win of the day came in set two. A back-and-forth set that saw seven ties culminated with Texas State coming back from a 20-18 deficit to win set two 26-25 and knot the match at one set a piece.
Set three came to an unfortunate end for the Bobcats, as a coach challenge reversed a call to give South Alabama the last point needed to win set three, 25-23. South Alabama continued with the momentum it built to win set four 25-19, claiming the match over the Bobcats.
Errors proved to be Texas State’s undoing, as the Bobcats committed 26 over the four-set match. A number too large to overcome.
Match two
Mirroring match one, Texas State dropped the second match of the weekend to South Alabama in four sets, only winning set two.
For the second straight day, errors were the deciding factor in set one. With the score knotted at 24-24, a Texas State error allowed South Alabama to go up 25-24. With a kill on the next point, South Alabama won set one, 26-24.
Texas State won set two, mainly due to the 10 errors committed by South Alabama. The Jaguars’ miscues, factored in with a few key blocks by the Bobcats, were enough to make the difference for Texas State in set two, as they won 25-20.
Set three was back-and-forth to start, with the two sides finding themselves tied at 7-7. From that point, though, South Alabama rattled off a 7-1 run, going up 14-8. Texas State did what they could to fight out of the six-point hole but ultimately ran out of points as South Alabama won set three 25-22.
Set four was all South Alabama early on, as the Jaguars jumped out to a 13-4 lead. Once again, Texas State did their best to pull off a magic act, bringing the score within three, but ultimately ran out of gas. South Alabama went on to win set four 25-21, finishing off the two-match sweep of Texas State.
The Bobcats will look to rebound this coming weekend when they return home for a two-match set against Arkansas State University.
The match between Texas State and Arkansas State is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at Strahan Arena. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
