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ARLINGTON, Texas – Texas State, the No. 3 seed, downed sixth-seeded South Alabama in straight sets to open the 2016 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship at College Park Center on the campus of UT Arlington.

Texas State (21-11) was in command for much of the match, despite No. 6 South Alabama (16-14) keeping the first two sets close. The Bobcats claimed set one 25-22 and set two, 25-21. The Bobcats opened up the third on a 10-1 run and withstood a brief comeback bid by the Jaguars to close out the match with a 25-18 third set win. Texas State advances into the semifinals to take on the winner of match 2 (No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 7 Georgia Southern) on Saturday at 4 p.m. (CT).

"Extremely pleased to go to the next round. It may not be exactly like we had it down on paper. Not the prettiest match but again when you get in these situations, the first round match is always the hardest of all," said Texas State head coach Karen Chisum.

Texas State, improving to 7-2 all-time in the SBC Championship, ended South Alabama's season for a second consecutive year.

Jaliyah Bolden led the Bobcats with a match-high 16 kills and featured a .429 attack percentage, while three Bobcats registered at least 10 digs. Lauren Kirsch had 11 kills and a .240 attack percentage.

The Bobcats had 43 kills in the match to USA's 29.