Texas State Volleyball (11-11, 6-5 SBC) walked into the Southern Miss Wellness Center on Halloween night and handed the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (14-8, 6-5 SBC) a 3-1 defeat.
For the first time this season, Southern Miss was handed a home loss to a Sun Belt Conference opponent, and Texas State did so by winning three straight sets. After dropping the first set, juniors Samantha Wunsch and Alyssa Clark powered a gem of a three-set performance.
In the first set, the Golden Eagles controlled the tempo and pace early and jumped out to a 7-5 lead. The Bobcats kept it close and battled throughout the set, but attack errors by sophomore Caelyn Emmerling and senior Jade Defraeye proved too tough to overcome as Southern Miss notched a first-set win 25-23.
However, the second set saw Texas State rebound quickly as they came out firing on all cylinders and dominated with multiple kills for Wunsch, Emmerling, and a host of other Bobcats. Wunsch, who led the Bobcats in kills, attack percentage and points for this game, was assisted in a major way by junior Dylan Gilkey. The set was capped off with a service ace by libero Alyssa Clark as the set went to the Bobcats 25-23.
The third set saw more of the same for Texas State, swinging hard early and grabbing their first 3-point lead of the Game. Senior Bailey Hanner got in on the kill bandwagon. Both Hanner and Emmerling combined for six kills in the second set. The Bobcats cruised to a 25-20 set win and a commanding 2-1 set advantage.
Unforced errors by Texas State threatened to upend their momentum and kept Southern Miss competing in the fourth and final set. Clark kept hopes alive, leading the team with 25 digs. The Golden Eagles found their groove that worked so well for them in the first set, pulling away from the Bobcats and leading 22-17 at one point.
Wunsch, aided by Clark and Gilkey, ripped off an 8-2 run to force match point and eventually a 26-24 set victory for the Bobcats, ultimately giving them the integral victory for good.
