In its lone exhibition of the preseason, Texas State volleyball swept the Lamar University Cardinals 3-0 Saturday afternoon at McDonald Gym, in Beaumont, Texas. 

Outside hitter Samantha Wunsch led the Bobcats with 13 kills, while also recording zero errors. As a team, Texas State swung for a .591 attack percentage. Wunsch also tallied three blocks and one service ace to her final stat line. 

Transfer setter Dylan Gilkey led the way for Texas State with 35 assists, 33 more than the next closest Bobcat on the statsheet. 

Texas State rolled to a 25-14 first set victory thanks in part to the efforts of Wunsch and Gilkey. Eight kills from Wunsch and 12 assists from Gilkey paved the way for the Bobcats in set one. Three blocks defensively and the ability to limit the Cardinals’ offensive attack percentage put set one in the books. 

With 16 ties and seven lead changes, set two was much more of a see-saw battle. Gilkey tallied another 12 assists in the second set, leading to nearly all of the Bobcats’ 13 kills in the set. Texas State ultimately prevailed in the second set by a 25-23 tally, taking the 2-0 lead. 

The third and final set was all Texas State again. 14 kills and a .435 hitting percentage led the Bobcats to a 25-12 victory in the set. Putting an end to the match and completing the sweep of the Cardinals. 

Texas State will officially begin its season with two matches as part of the UTSA Invitational. The Bobcats will take on Stephen F. Austin in their season opener, followed by a renewal of the I-35 Rivalry with UTSA.  

Both matches are set for Saturday, Aug. 30, at the Convocation Center in San Antonio. Match times are 11 a.m. against SFA and 6 p.m. against UTSA. The match against UTSA will be available to stream on ESPN+.