Daigle leads Bobcats to 20th win
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team completed a season sweep over Little Rock with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-16) triumph Sunday afternoon inside Strahan Coliseum.

The Bobcats (20-8, 11-2 SBC) reached the 20-win plateau for the fourth time in five years since joining the Sun Belt Conference, while also providing coach Karen Chisum with her 24th 20-win campaign in her 38 seasons at the helm.

The Trojans (9-18, 5-10 SBC) suffered their second shutout loss to the Bobcats this year.

Junior Madison Daigle led the maroon and gold with 12 kills and just one error for a team-high .478 hitting percentage. She also added six blocks. Sophomore Megan Porter contributed 12 digs and nine kills, while classmate Amy Pflughaupt filled the stat sheet with nine digs, seven kills, four blocks and three aces. Senior Erin Hoppe supplied a match-high 36 assists, and sophomore Micah Dinwiddie totaled a match-best 25 digs. Her dig total was the highest by an SBC player in a three-set match this year.

The first set was never in doubt after Texas State used a 9-0 run to turn a 5-4 LR lead into a 13-5 TXST advantage. The lead inflated to 13 at one point (20-7) before contracting back into the final nine-point cushion of 25-16.

The second period had a few more twists and turns before the Bobcats were finally able to seize control. Little Rock enjoyed a 13-10 lead that forced a Texas State timeout, but the home side blitzed the visitors with an 11-1 run that put the maroon and gold on top 21-14. The Trojans were able to climb back within three but would not come any closer.

LR continued to fight in the third frame and even found one final lead at 12-11. Texas State would not be denied the clean sweep, however, as the Bobcats closed out the afternoon session on a 14-4 run.

The Trojans failed to have a player reach double-digit kills for the second time this season against TXST. Veronica Marin led the offense with nine kills, Taylor Lindberg had 29 assists, and Sydnee Martin registered 19 digs. SBC Freshman of the Week Mya Robinson was held to just six kills on a .115 percentage.

The Bobcats led in all major statistical categories, including kills (40-32), attack percentage (.252-.080), assists (40-31), aces (7-1), digs (66-44), and blocks (10-4).

The maroon and gold will conclude its stretch of three matches in four days with a road trip to Arlington, Texas. TXST will face UTA in the final road contest of the season at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 6 inside College Park Center.

JAG VOLLEYBALL DEFEATS ULM IN FOUR SETS
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team defeated ULM in four sets (19-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-15) Sunday in Sun Belt Conference action at Jag Gym.

USA improved to 16-8 overall and 11-13 in SBC play, while ULM fell to 5-26 overall and 1-13 in the SBC.

South Alabama will return to action Fri., Nov. 10, when it hosts Coastal Carolina at 5 p.m. at Jag Gym.

GAME FACTS
- ULM used a 5-0 scoring run early in the opening set to take a 9-4 lead.
- A 4-1 Jaguar scoring run midway through the first set, highlighted by a pair of kills from Lauren Hartman and one kill by Kristina Alabastro, cut the ULM lead to 16-15. The Jags scored consecutive points out of a ULM timeout on a kill by Hartman and service ace by Parker Harrell to tie the score at 17-17. But a 3-0 ULM scoring run, aided by a Jaguar attack error and service error, gave the Warhawks a 20-17 lead.
- ULM earned set point at 24-18 on a kill by Anna Lechner, and clinched the first set on a kill by Catherine Griffith at 25-19.
- The Warhawks posted a .419 hitting percentage in the opening set, while the Jags recorded a .143 team hitting percentage.
- USA used a 4-0 scoring run early in the second set, aided by three Warhawk errors, to take a 9-7 lead.
- ULM tied the score at 17-17 in set two after a 4-0 scoring run which resulted from a pair of Jaguar errors and kills from Mikaela Worley and Jennifer McClendon.
- ULM erased a two-point deficit late in the second set with a 3-0 run, aided by kills from Worley and Kalena Caruthers, to take a 22-21 lead.
- USA earned set point at 24-23 in the second set on a kill by Iva Durdanovic, and evened the match on a service ace from Durdanovic for a 25-23 win in set two.
- USA extended its lead to 17-13 in set three with a 6-0 scoring run, highlighted by kills from Durdanovic and Hannah Johnson, a service ace by Meaghan Jones, two block assists by Hannah Johnson and Harris and a block assist from Harris and Durdanovic.
- The Jags earned set point at 24-19 in set three on a kill by Alabastro, and clinched the set at 25-19 on a Warhawk dig error to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
- USA used a 6-0 scoring run early in the fourth set, highlighted by four straight kills by Hartman, for a 15-8 advantage.
- The Jags earned match point in set four at 24-14 on a service ace by Kellyn Reeves, and clinched the match at 25-15 on a kill by Durdanovic.
- USA posted a game-high .469 team hitting percentage in the fourth set with 16 kills and one error on 32 total attacks.

NOTES
- Lauren Hartman recorded a career-high 15 kills, along with a .500 hitting percentage and one dig.
- Abby Baker finished with 19 digs and four assists in four sets.
- Alabastro recorded nine kills, two service aces, seven digs, one solo block and two block assists. Durdanovic finished with nine kills, one service ace, four digs and three block assists.
- Reeves led the Jags with 23 assists, along with one kill, one service ace and seven digs. Parker Harrell finished with 17 assists, two kills, one service ace and nine digs.
- The win ended a two-game Jaguar losing skid, and improved USA's record at home this season to 7-3.

QUOTES
Head Coach Amy Hendrichovsky
- On the win:
"We found out 25 minutes before the match that Kelley (Hartman) wasn't going to be able to play. She came to practice and just didn't feel it. I told our girls that what hurt us Friday night was Kelley was the one who could hit the ball and wanted the ball, and they knew that so it was a great opportunity for us to have other people have to play, have to show up and hit the ball to help us next weekend, hopefully, when she's healthy. It was a good experience for us; I'm glad we embraced it, especially after losing the first set. I thought we all stepped up individually and as a team and really took care of business after that."

- On Lauren Hartman's performance:
"She was injured a couple of weeks ago, but she finally started feeling better. She's just a kid you really have to have on the court. I thought she played well Friday night, and she played really well today knowing her sister was out. I actually thought she'd worry about her sister, but she kind of took the role of her sister. They're a great duo and great for our team. I'm very happy to have them in our program."

-On how the team is playing at this point in the season:
"We had a really good week of practice, and what I saw on Friday night was promising although we didn't win it. What we were able to do today, not having a player, really helped us grow. I just want us to embrace it. We'll have another good week of practice this week, and let the ball roll out on Friday night and Sunday and see who's got it that day."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action Fri., Nov. 10, when it hosts Coastal Carolina at 5 p.m. at Jag Gym.