TXST Release:
SAN MARCOS, TX. — Following Friday night’s five-set loss to James Madison, Texas State volleyball head coach Sean Huiet said he wished he had put Lauren Teske into the match sooner.
Huiet wasted no time making sure his redshirt-senior outside hitter was in Saturday’s match as the Schertz, Texas native drew her second starting assignment on the season.
A night after recording seven kills and no errors on nine total attacks for a .778 attack percentage, Teske posted a season-high 18 kills on a .342 attack percentage in four sets played. Teske was also credited with a season-high nine digs and 18.5 points.
Three of Teske’s kills came during the match’s first set that saw Texas State attack at a match-high .486 percentage (19 kills and only one error on 37 total attacks). After having three and five kills in the second and third sets, respectively, it was during the Bobcats’ ‘statement-making’ fourth set that saw Teske really take her performance to another level.
With the set tied at 6-6, Teske took a Ryann Torres set and planted the volleyball between JMU defenders to push the Bobcats ahead. The kill sparked an 18-6 run for Texas State that Teske capped with two kills to earn two of the Bobcats’ final three points in the match.
FROM HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET
“I’m proud. That was a good team win. We knew that JMU is a good team. Like I said last night, we were a little frustrated with how that match went, so I like how we were able to come in today and make a statement. We let that third set slip a little bit, but we came out in that fourth set and put it to them a little bit. That was a great win against a great team.”
FROM SETTER EMILY DEWALT
“I thought when (Jacqueline Lee) came in — even in those two sets last night — she did a really good job of leading our defense in the back (row), so I thought that really helped us. She sparked a little bit of our defense and I thought we blocked better at the net today as well. I still think there are some things we still need to work on a little bit, but I just think — from a team standpoint — we were just better overall today.”
Friday 9/30
Texas State Battles to Five Set Loss Against Dukes
SAN MARCOS, TX — In a preview of a potential upcoming Sun Belt Conference Championship match, two titans of the conference went back-and-forth on a Friday night in San Marcos as Texas State (10-4, 2-1) and James Madison (9-3, 3-0) became the fifth Sun Belt on Sun Belt match to go five sets this season.
By virtue of taking sets two and fourth, Texas State became the first-ever Sun Belt volleyball program to win not one, but multiple sets against the Dukes. And, with the Bobcats winning the second set, it marked the first time in 13 consecutive sets over the course of five matches that James Madison dropped a set.
In front of an announced attendance of 1,050 on Friday night, Texas State battled throughout the night as the five-set match featured 25 tied scores — with nine in both the second and third sets, respectively — and five lead changes.
After James Madison took the match’s opening set by two points, Texas State bounced back by becoming the first team since Florida A&M on Saturday, Sept. 3 to hold James Madison’s offense to under 20 points in a set by allowing the Dukes to get to only 19 in the second set by limiting the offense to just a .185 attack percentage.
FROM HEAD COACH SEAN HUIET
“Tonight was frustrating. It’s the same thing we’ve been talking about we’re just too inconsistent right now. We knew JMU is a really good team, so they were going to game plan really well. And the most frustrating part for us, as a staff, is that we knew (Miëtte Veldman) and (Sophie Davis) were their go-to (student-athletes) and they did their job tonight. And some of our go-to people — some that are all-conference level — did not have their best nights. I thought Lauren Teske did a great job off the bench. I probably should’ve gone to her a little sooner, but … it’s frustrating in a way, but we have to learn from this and bounce back quick to be able to turn around and play them, again, at noon. I did like our composure to get it to the fifth set, though, because we were kind of wavering there for a little bit.”
