Texas State (3-3) battled with No. 9 Arizona State University (5-1) through five sets, ultimately falling short 2-3 against the Sun Devils in the first of three matches in the Texas State Invitational on Thursday, Sept. 11, at Strahan Arena.

“We talk a lot about not looking at what’s on the other team’s jersey, right? We’re going to play every team; we want our style of volleyball to show,” head coach Sean Huiet said. “That’s probably what I’m the most proud of as well, is that we didn’t back down, we didn’t just say, oh, ‘they’re Arizona State, they’re number nine,’ we went and competed and went toe to toe with them.”

The night got off to a hot start as the Bobcats and Sun Devils put on a show in set one, with attacks firing off one after another and a score that never exceeded a gap of more than three points and totaled 12 ties.

Pressure carried on throughout the final moments of set 1, where the last nine plays were all marked by kills from both sides until the Bobcats came out triumphant in an extra point, 26-24.

Samantha Wunsch put the set to rest, slamming the ball to the Sun Devil’s court, and finished set one as the kill leader across the court, eventually ending the night with a total of 21 kills, with support from setter Anna Blaine, who led the night with 45 assists.

“I think Anna did a really amazing job, but really just knowing that my teammates have my back, kind of lets me just, you know, go for it and it was working out tonight,” Wunsch said. I knew my team was behind me.”

The Bobcats and the Sun Devils battled through the very end of set four, pushing to five extra match points until ASU ended in victory as Baily Miller sent in a kill for the winning point, 30-28.

Despite a long two first sets, both sides of the court continued to battle, side out after side out as the first half of set three continued without either team breaking more than a three-point lead.

Looking to get out of a tied set, the Bobcats dug deep to go on a six-point run and earn victory in the third set, 25-20.

The Sun Devils bounced back in set four, not quite ready to hit the bus and wore the Bobcats down throughout the set, eventually coming out on top 25-19 and forcing the night to a deciding game five.

We want to be the team that is really scrappy and teams have trouble scoring on. 
I thought at times, we became too easy for them to score points on, which gave them a little confidence,” Huiet said.

In the fifth set, the Sun Devils solidified their attack and pushed forward to finalize a victory in the final set 15-9.

“Obviously, we fell short today, but I think it felt really good and obviously being home and having the Bobcat stadium around us really helped, but I think we’re going in the right direction, just keep growing,” Wunsch said.

The Bobcats will return to Strahan Arena at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, for their second match of the weekend against the University of Tulsa. The match will be streaming on ESPN+.

Texas State (3-3) battled with No. 9 Arizona State University (5-1) through five sets, ultimately falling short 2-3 against the Sun Devils in the first of three matches in the Texas State Invitational on Thursday, Sept. 11, at Strahan Arena.

“We talk a lot about not looking at what’s on the other team’s jersey, right? We’re going to play every team; we want our style of volleyball to show,” head coach Sean Huiet said. “That’s probably what I’m the most proud of as well, is that we didn’t back down, we didn’t just say, oh, ‘they’re Arizona State, they’re number nine,’ we went and competed and went toe to toe with them.”

The night got off to a hot start as the Bobcats and Sun Devils put on a show in set one, with attacks firing off one after another and a score that never exceeded a gap of more than three points and totaled 12 ties.

Pressure carried on throughout the final moments of set 1, where the last nine plays were all marked by kills from both sides until the Bobcats came out triumphant in an extra point, 26-24.

Samantha Wunsch put the set to rest, slamming the ball to the Sun Devil’s court, and finished set one as the kill leader across the court, eventually ending the night with a total of 21 kills, with support from setter Anna Blaine, who led the night with 45 assists.

“I think Anna did a really amazing job, but really just knowing that my teammates have my back, kind of lets me just, you know, go for it and it was working out tonight,” Wunsch said. I knew my team was behind me.”

The Bobcats and the Sun Devils battled through the very end of set four, pushing to five extra match points until ASU ended in victory as Baily Miller sent in a kill for the winning point, 30-28.

Despite a long two first sets, both sides of the court continued to battle, side out after side out as the first half of set three continued without either team breaking more than a three-point lead.

Looking to get out of a tied set, the Bobcats dug deep to go on a six-point run and earn victory in the third set, 25-20.

The Sun Devils bounced back in set four, not quite ready to hit the bus and wore the Bobcats down throughout the set, eventually coming out on top 25-19 and forcing the night to a deciding game five.

We want to be the team that is really scrappy and teams have trouble scoring on. 
I thought at times, we became too easy for them to score points on, which gave them a little confidence,” Huiet said.

In the fifth set, the Sun Devils solidified their attack and pushed forward to finalize a victory in the final set 15-9.

“Obviously, we fell short today, but I think it felt really good and obviously being home and having the Bobcat stadium around us really helped, but I think we’re going in the right direction, just keep growing,” Wunsch said.

The Bobcats will return to Strahan Arena at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, for their second match of the weekend against the University of Tulsa. The match will be streaming on ESPN+.