JONESBORO, Ark. (11/6/20) – On Friday night at First National Bank Arena, Arkansas State dropped a 3-0 decision to 13th-ranked Texas State.
A-State (8-7, 8-7 Sun Belt Conference) out-blocked the Bobcats (18-1, 13-0) 11.0-7.0, but Texas State held off the Red Wolves to take the match. The match marked the 13th time this season that A-State had surpassed the 10-block mark.
Lauren Musante notched her 10th double-double of the season with 12 assists and 11 digs while Macey Putt led with five kills. Brianna Hollingshed was the match's top blocker, knocking down seven. Madison Brown and Josie Stanford also tallied four blocks apiece.
Janell Fitzgerald led all players with 18 kills and four blocks. Emily DeWalt handed out 38 assists to go along with eight digs and three blocks. Libero Kayla Granado tallied a match-high 16 digs.
SET 1 – Texas State 25-21
After Texas State took the first three points to start the match, A-State came out with great energy and clawed back to tie it up at 10 on a 3-0 run that included a block by Brown and an ace by Davenport. The Red Wolves then took a 13-12 lead on an ace by Musante. The Bobcats reclaimed the lead at 17-16 and held off the Red Wolves by taking six of the next eight points to force an A-State timeout at 23-18. A-State battled back to save three set points, including on a block by Hollingshed and Brown. The Bobcats took the set 25-21 on a kill by Fitzgerald.
SET 2 – Texas State 25-18
Texas State mounted to as big as a 14-7 lead early in the second set, but then the Red Wolves surged back with seven straight points to tie it up at 14-all. A 7-1 run put the Bobcats back ahead 21-15. Ticknor fired an ace to make it 21-17, but Texas State took four of the last five points to take a 25-18 decision in the second set to lead 2-0 in the match.
SET 3 – Texas State 25-15
The Bobcats took a 7-1 lead in the third set before A-State fought back with two straight points to cut it to 8-4. An 8-3 Texas State run made it 16-7. Back-to-back kills by Putt then made it 18-10 in favor of Texas State, which took the next three points to lead 21-10. Three straight attack errors helped A-State pull closer at 21-13, but the Bobcats held off the Red Wolves to take the third set 25-15 and win the match.
A-State closes out the regular season on Saturday, wrapping up the three-match series versus Texas State at 1 p.m. inside First National Bank Arena. The match will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.
Fans can follow the team on Twitter (@AStateVB) and Instagram (astatevb) along with liking the Arkansas State University Volleyball page on Facebook for the latest news and updates regarding the team.
