Bolden leads TXST to first postseason triumph in school history
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team earned its first postseason victory in school history with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-20) win over Rice in the first round of the 2017 National Invitational Volleyball Championship Thursday night inside Strahan Coliseum.
The Bobcats (25-9) reached their highest win total since 2011, while the Owls (21-9) saw their season come to a close.
TXST will now face Texas Tech in the NIVC Second Round at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 1 inside Strahan Coliseum. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals and will meet UC Irvine. The Red Raiders (16-14) dispatched SMU 3-0 in the night's first match.
Fans planning to attend Friday's match are encouraged to arrive early. Parking will be at a premium with Bobcat Stadium set to host a high school football playoff game and the continuation of the annual Sights and Sounds of Christmas event.
Senior Jaliyah Bolden powered TXST over Rice with 19 kills and just two errors on 31 swings (.548 percentage). Sophomore Megan Porter posted a double-double with 17 digs and 12 kills, while senior Erin Hoppe distributed 46 assists and sophomore Mattie Adams tallied 13 digs.
Fellow sophomore Micah Dinwiddie finished with 30 digs, which was the highest mark by a Sun Belt player in a three-set match since Nov. 22, 2014 (Arkansas State's Markie Schaedig).
The opening set featured 10 ties and a trio of lead changes, but it was ultimately captured by the maroon and gold. TXST saw the first bit of daylight by finding leads of 17-14 and 18-15, but the Owls quickly closed the gap to one and stayed at that deficit all the way to 22-21. The home team used an error and kills from Hoppe and junior Madison Daigle to secure the final three points necessary to take the 1-0 lead.
The margin for error was razor thin throughout the second period, as well, as the two sides battled to an 18-18 standstill. The home team won the crucial final points to earn a second-straight 25-21 win. Texas State was initially trailing 15-12 and closed the frame on a 13-6 run.
The Bobcats were able to find a bit more breathing room in the final set at 18-13, but even that advantage quickly evaporated down to 21-19. They would not be denied, however, as they were able to claim four of the final five points to move on to the next round.
No Owl had double-figure kills. Nicole Lennon led the visitors with nine on 41 swings for a .122 percentage. She also added 12 digs. Madison McDaniel finished with a team-high 28 assists and added 11 digs. Lee Ann Cunningham (17) and Julianna Dole (12) also posted double-digit digs.
The Bobcats led the night in kills (51-34), attack percentage (.226-.127), assists (50-32), digs (84-69), and blocks (6-4). The Owls led in aces, 5-4.
@AStateVB Falls to Ole Miss in NIVC
OXFORD, Miss. (11/30/17) – The Arkansas State volleyball team saw its 2017 campaign come to a close with a 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 16-25, 21-25) loss to Ole Miss in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship Thursday night at the Gillom Center in Oxford, Miss.
Ole Miss (19-14) hit .294 and held A-State (21-12) to a .201 percentage and out blocked the Red Wolves 13-6. Carlisa May led the team with 20 kills, her 10th match of 20 or more kills this season, to bring her season total to 507, 10th most in school history. Peyton Uhlenhake posted a season-high 12 kills, while Ellie Watkins handed out 45 assists.
Defensively, Tatum Ticknor led the Red Wolves with 21 digs to bring her season total to 596, ninth most in school history. Timber Terrell led the team with four blocks, while Jessica Uke added a pair to give her 101 for the season making her just the fourth player since 2011 to eclipse 100 blocks. Terrell was just shy of double-digit kills with nine, while Madison Brown had seven. Uke finished her career with a .336 hitting percentage, good for sixth highest in school history.
“I’m proud of our team and the effort we showed tonight,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “We had four freshmen on the floor at a couple of points tonight and were able to battle with them so that was extremely encouraging. However, Ole Miss made a few more plays than we did, especially in the third set. I thought this was a step in the right direction though and I’m excited for next season.”
A-State jumped out to a 15-12 lead in set one at the media timeout and extended its edge to 20-13 on a block by Terrell. The Red Wolves would go on to win the first frame 25-18 on a kill by Watkins. Ole Miss raced out to a 12-6 lead in set two, but the Red Wolves battled back to within 16-14. However, the visitors couldn’t get any closer as the Rebels went on to claim the set 25-20.
Arkansas State couldn’t get much going in set three early as Ole Miss earned leads of 7-0 and 13-1 before A-State battled back within six at 18-12 on a kill by Terrell. Unfortunately the Red Wolves couldn’t get any closer as the Rebels claimed a 25-16 decision. A-State started fast in game four with a 4-0 run and led 10-6 after a kill by May. However, Ole Miss was able to tie the set at 20-20 and ended the game on a 5-1 run to win set four 25-21 and the match 3-1.
Ole Miss was led by Emily Stroup’s 18 kills, while Lexi Thompson had 12 and Nayo Warnell tallied 10 to go along with eight blocks.
Arkansas State’s win over SIUE Wednesday night was its first postseason win since the 1993 NIVC. The Red Wolves have five seniors graduating and return 12 letterwinners for next season.