A trip to Palo Alto, California, saw Texas State volleyball go 1-2 over the weekend. A tough trio of opponents included the Bobcats dropping two matches to UCLA and the host Stanford, but finishing the weekend on a positive note with a victory over Hawaii.
Match 1: UCLA 3 – TXST 1
Texas State Volleyball showed heart, hustle, and high-level play in a four-set showdown against UCLA on Friday night, nearly forcing a decisive fifth set before falling 3-1 to the Bruins in a dramatic finish.
The Bobcats were led by Nina Moorer, who tied her career-high with 13 kills, and Jade Defraeye, who added 11 kills and a commanding seven blocks. Setter Anna Blaine orchestrated the offense with 41 assists and chipped in 12 digs for her fifth career double-double. Despite the effort, the Bobcats ultimately dropped the fourth set in extra points, 28-26, handing UCLA the win.
In set one, Texas State struggled to find its footing as UCLA fired off 16 kills. The Bruins gave Texas State chances, though the Bobcats couldn’t keep up, falling 25-19.
The second set told a different story. The Bobcats came back with precision and power, with 16 kills on 32 swings. Defraeye was dominant at the net with five kills, and the Bobcats took advantage of another six UCLA attack errors to claim the set 25-20 and even the match at 1-1.
Set three was a tightly contested battle. Texas State actually outhit the Bruins and put down 15 kills, but UCLA’s four service aces made the difference. The Bobcats dropped the set 25-22 despite a strong offensive showing.
The fourth set was a rollercoaster. Down 16-12, Texas State mounted an electric comeback to tie the set at 22. The two teams traded blows down the stretch, battling through four set points in total, but it was a successful UCLA challenge that sealed the match with a heartbreaking 28-26 loss for the Bobcats in a set that could have gone either way.
Match 2: #4 Stanford 3 – TXST 0
Texas State’s second match of the weekend was against the fourth-ranked Stanford Cardinal. Stanford outkilled the Bobcats 43-29 and committed 13 fewer errors than Texas State en route to a 3-0 sweep on their home court Saturday evening at Stanford Maples Pavilion.
The first set was the most competitive one of the night, with eight tied scores before the Cardinal took a 15-14 lead. From that point on, Stanford never gave up the lead, riding it all the way to a 25-20 first-set victory.
Despite an early three point lead for Texas State at the beginning of the second set, Stanford overwhelmed the Bobcats and headed into the media timeout up 15-11. The Cardinal went on a 10-4 run to close the second set out at 25-15 to take a 2-0 lead.
15 kills by the Cardinal, along with nine attack errors on Texas State’s side, aided Stanford to an early lead in the fourth set. The Bobcats were never able to recover from the deficit, leading Stanford to a 25-18 victory in the third set and the sweep of the Bobcats.
Match 3: TXST 3 – Hawaii 1
Texas State defeated Hawaii for the first time ever, 3-1, Sunday afternoon to close out their weekend in Stanford.
Redshirt junior Nina Moorer led the team with 13 kills, tying her career best. In the first set, the two teams went back and forth before the Bobcats went on a run and took the lead 15-10. From there, the Bobcats only let Hawaii score one more point, taking the set 25-16. The Rainbow Wahine never found a groove, finishing with an even nine errors and nine kills.
In the second set, both teams struggled offensively, both tallying more errors than kills. The two sides went back and forth, trading points, but the Bobcats pulled out the set, 25-20. The Bobcats took advantage of Hawaii’s 10 attack errors and five service errors to take advantage and claim the second set
Texas State jumped out to the lead and held it late into the third set at 18-15, but the Rainbow Wahine stormed back with a 10-1 run to take the third set 25-19.
Texas State took set four 25-22 after forcing Hawaii to have multiple attack errors, putting them at a .103 attack percentage to close out the victory against the ‘Bows.
The Bobcats will return home to Strahan Arena to open up conference play on September 26 and 27 against Louisiana. The two matches are slated for 6 p.m. and 1 p.m. The match will be streaming on ESPN+.
