JONESBORO, Ark. – No. 2 Texas State defeated No. 3 Louisiana, 3-1, in the semifinals of the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Championship on Saturday night at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.

The (24-8) advance to the title match and will face either top-seeded Coastal Carolina or No. 4 seed Arkansas State for the league crown at 2 p.m. (CT) on Sunday. The championship match appearance is Texas State's first trip to the finals since 2014, as the Bobcats will look to win their first title since 2013.

Amy Pflughaupt (19 digs, 17 kills) and Megan Porter (22 digs, 12 kills) led the Bobcats with a pair of double-doubles, while Jaliyah Bolden tallied 13 kills on a .310 hitting percentage. Erin Hoppe filled the stat sheet with 50 assists, seven digs, six kills (.455 percentage) and a career-high five blocks.

Texas State initially went on top by claiming the opening set 25-16. The Bobcats found an early 10-5 lead that swelled to 20-10. They were able to maintain the margin through the final moments of the frame.

The Ragin' Cajuns countered with a 25-18 second-set victory of their own to even the night at one game each. The Ragin' Cajuns inched ahead at 11-8 and stayed up by that margin until the Bobcats got within two at 17-15. Louisiana then closed on an 8-3 run to finish off the set.

The Bobcats swung momentum back in its favor by capturing the third set, 25-22. A kill by Madison Daigle gave the Texas State a 14-13 advantage, and they never trailed again. They opened up a five-point cushion at 21-16 that proved to be enough breathing room to fend off a late rally.

Texas State looked to run away from Louisiana in the fourth period after racing out to a 5-0 lead, but the Ragin' Cajuns scored four-straight points to keep the set close. The Bobcats grew their lead out to 13-7 and extended that to a 20-12 advantage. The Bobcats closed out the fourth set 25-14 and claimed the match.

Hali Wisnoskie led Louisiana (21-11) with 12 kills, while Stacey Reilly added 10. Jessica Bartczyszyn had 35 assists and 11 digs, while Sydney Davis added 28 digs. The duo of Avery Breaux (14) and Lexi Hebert (12) added double-digit digs.

The Bobcats led the night in kills (64-40), attack percentage (.221-.114), assists (62-39) and digs (95-78).