The 2020-21 season was already historic for Texas State before the Bobcats ever reached the NCAA tournament.
The maroon and gold became the third school in Sun Belt history to win a third consecutive championship in the conference tournament on Nov. 22. The team concluded the regular season with a program-record 30 wins, knocking off No. 9 Baylor in its final match on April 1. It was the first time in program history Texas State defeated a top-10 team.
The Bobcats battled a hurricane, a winter storm and a global pandemic throughout the year. They dealt with doubleheaders, delays and postponements. They did it all with a first-year head coach.
So when the team’s nine-month-long season concluded Thursday after a loss to No. 5 seed Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Omaha, Neb., there wasn’t too much to be disappointed about.
“After the game, a big thing was just to keep our heads high, because we have accomplished a lot this year, and not letting this one loss define our season,” junior outside hitter Kenedi Rutherford said. “Nebraska was a good team and, yeah, we could have done some things differently, but they played well, as well. And we know we left it out on the court.”
To even reach the match against the Huskers, Texas State had to beat Utah Valley in the first round on Wednesday, 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 20-25, 25-22) — the maroon and gold’s second-ever NCAA tournament win.
The Wolverines (14-6, 13-4 Western Athletic Conference), coming off the WAC tournament championship two weeks ago, tested the Bobcats but couldn’t handle the team’s high-powered offense. Senior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott, junior right-side hitter Janell Fitzgerald and sophomore outside hitter Caitlan Buettner combined for 42 kills.
“It's just fun being here. It's fun make to make history as well,” Scott said. “It's just a really fun experience, seeing our families come out and support us. Just being here, really, is just a different opportunity. It just really reminds me of our conference championship, just with the courts and the atmosphere.”
Giving his players a true “championship experience” was one of Huiet’s main goals when the team set out for the tourney. He ran into challenges when they arrived. The travel party was tested for COVID-19 daily and taking the players anywhere out to eat for a nice meal meant risking exposure.
Instead, Huiet got creative. As the Bobcats quarantined for two days before taking the practice court, they held a game night for their players. The next day, the entire team received a facemask treatment to “look good, feel good, play good.”
“We had a lot of videos sent from other sports teams at Texas State and Texas State supporters,” Huiet said. “And then (Tuesday) night, we had a real special night where we had our parents and families, they all sent videos and we had a team meeting and we got to show them their videos. And just, it was good for the kids to feel all the love and support from the people back home.”
The momentum of Texas State’s first-round win over UVU didn’t carry over against Nebraska in the second round. The Huskers (15-2, 14-2 Big 10) swept the match, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-20).
After 40 matches that spanned over nine months, the Bobcats’ season finally came to an end. There were some heavy hearts in the locker room after the last match. But there was some relief, too.
“It's so hard when a season ends because the journey has been amazing, this group has been amazing,” Huiet said. “You never have the exact same situation, exact same season and kids again. There's always something that's a little bit different. And so it's hard. But we started playing matches in August and I jokingly told the kids, ‘I don't want anyone to look at a volleyball, see a volleyball for a nice, long time.’”
Texas State plans to bring back its entire roster, including its two seniors in Scott and defensive specialist Brooke Johnson, who gained an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic. Huiet said the team will also bring in a transfer player from the Big 10 and two high school recruits in the offseason to add to the team’s depth.
The Bobcats are still in the hunt for their first Sweet 16 appearance. And after the year they just had, they’ll feel more prepared to do so than ever before next season.
