Volleyball Shakes Off Slow Start, Finishes Strong to Net First Conference Win

After winning 6 out of their last 8, the Texas State volleyball team looked to take an easy win against Texas A&M - Corpus Christi in Strahan Coliseum for their Southland Conference opener. The confidence of the talented Bobcat players and their fans was not unfounded, as the Islanders of Corpus have been a recently dormant program and have never won against Texas State in ten matches. Texas State was eventually able to extend their winning streak over A&M - Corpus to 11 with a 3-1 victory, but the Islanders gave the Bobcats much more of a test than they anticipated.

The first set was a shocking one for Texas State, as both teams traded blows down the stretch until around when both teams had 20 points. A&M - Corpus then crushed a Texas State attempt to come from behind and pulled away to win the first set 25-20. What really killed the Bobcats in this set was a combination of miscommunication and mental errors. While the 'Cats only committed two errors on paper, there were missed assignments, colliding players, and mis-hits on almost every play for the Maroon and Gold. The Islanders didn't make any spectacular plays or overwhelm the Bobcats in any way, they just committed fewer mistakes.

In response to a tongue-lashing by Coach Chisum on the bench during the break, the Bobcat players came out in the second set and took no prisoners. An impressive barrage of spikes by Jenna Weynand and AJ Watlington as well as an impressive display of tipping skills by Brittany Collins propelled the Bobcats to a dominating 25-6 set win. The Islanders looked lost and dismayed throughout the entire set, while the Bobcats were flying all over the court and showing just how talented of a team they can be. Strahan Coliseum was driven to a standing ovation during a rally where Texas State fended off 4-5 straight spikes with last-second saves, and Ashley Emmanuel drove the kill home to put the Bobcats up 16-5.

The third and fourth sets, however, were dogfights like the first set. Unlike the opening set, the Bobcats came out on top in these two sets as Brittany Collins was johnny-on-the-spot for Texas State. Most of her 7 kills, 7 digs and 30 assists came in these two sets, as she softly tipped the ball into the weak middle area of the Islander defense at a nearly constant rate. After the Bobcats took the third and fourth sets by respective scores of 25-20 and 25-18, Coach Chisum said afterwards that she was "very proud" of her senior player's performance in an interview with KTSW's Bill Culhane. At the same time, Chisum made it known that Texas State would have to play much better in Saturday's match against UTSA and could not afford another slow start.

Texas State improves to 7-9 overall and 1-0 in the SLC while the Islanders will fall behind their SLC West Division rivals in the standings with a 6-9 overall record and an 0-1 mark in the SLC. The Bobcats will face their I-35 rivals on Saturday in the University of Texas - San Antonio Roadrunners. KTSW will have the broadcast of Saturday's UTSA match at 2 pm as part of a Bobcat doubleheader with the football broadcast starting at 4:30. Pregame starts at 1:45, and you can listen on 89.9, ktsw.net, and txstatebobcats.com.

-Will Butler, KTSW Sports Director/Blog Editor