TXST VOLLEYBALL
Texas State extended their winning streak to seven-games with a win over the James Madison Dukes 3-1 [25-18, 2125, 29-27, 25-19].
The win improves the Bobcats record to 18-8 and 12-3 in conference play as Head Coach Sean Huiet was happy for the team on finding a way to win.
“I’m really proud of us for grinding it out,” Huiet said. “It wasn’t our cleanest performance but at this point of the season, it is about winning and figuring out how to win. [James Madison] is a really good team even though their record doesn’t show it. They have been battling the injury bug all season.”
The games between Texas State and James Madison have historically been thrilling showdowns with the Bobcats and the Dukes being two of the conference contenders.
For senior Alyssa Ortega, getting the first win against the Dukes in the two game series is critical.
“To me, it means a lot because they have always been in our way in the past,” Ortega said. “For us, beating them gives us a lot of confidence for tomorrow and next week when we start conference tournament play.”
One of the challenges of playing James Madison is the way the Dukes are able to scheme around their opponents.
As Huiet explained, one of the keys in the victory is being able to counter their schemes.
“I thought a lot of how we were playing was due to them,” Huiet said. “They put a lot of service pressure on us. They are good at scheming and taking away some of your better stuff. Their coaches are really good at getting their players to play hard.
“It is always a battle when we play them. I have a level of respect for them by knowing they are a good program. They are way better than what their record says.”
The Bobcats took the first set at 25-18 where Texas State jumped out to a 10-5 lead and failed to relinquish the lead.
However, James Madison regrouped to take the second set at 25-21.
Going into a critical third set, Huiet and the coaching staff worked to get the Bobcats refocused and playing back in their style.
“I thought we set the tone, and we were playing pretty well [in the first set],” Huiet said. “When they started putting more service pressure on us, we started to play a little anxious and not our normal style. We are usually fun and easy going, but it started to get more tense out there. We were trying to get them to relax.”
Before going out in the third set, the players met shortly in the locker room to discuss what they needed to improve on, including switching their mentality.
“Instead of having a passive mindset, we needed to have an aggressive one,” Torres said. “Honestly we all play better when we are mad.”
But playing aggressively wasn’t the mentality the Bobcats needed.
“We also talked about having a championship mindset,” Ortega said. “If we are able to do it now, we can do it in the tournament when it really matters the most.”
The third set was an absolute war between the Bobcats and the Dukes with eight lead chances and 15 tied scores.
The Bobcats and the Dukes were tied at 2424 before James Madison was at set point at 25-24. However, Texas State fought back and capitalized on two Duke attacking errors to retake the lead at 26-25. Despite James Madison tying the game up two more times, the Bobcats finally knocked out the Dukes to win the third set 29-27.
“I thought it was really good that we kept our composure,” Huiet said. “We had the lead, and then we got to 23 first. And we are feeling good. Volleyball is all about the momentum so when [JMU] took the lead there, we showed ourselves that we can score some points when the going gets tough.
“That was the dealbreaker for us getting that third set going into the fourth set because you could see the relief. And it felt [like] less pressure on us.”
When the third set went beyond the 25-point mark, Torres reiterated to her teammates the adjustments they needed to make in order to win the critical set.
“I told my teammates that we needed to fix our game with coverage, so the hitters could have more confidence when going up to swing,” Torres said. “Our aggression with our hitters did a really good job then playing back and forth with them on defense. Our coverage really picked up a lot.”
Ortega was happy with her teammates on their ability to focus in and take a critical win in the third set.
“I was proud how we were able to lock in during a crucial time when we needed that win,” Ortega said. “I know how frustrating it can be when it’s a tight game like that, but we were able to stay aggressive and keep playing how we play.”
The fourth set was another tough battle with Texas State and James Madison being tied at 16-16. But the Bobcats went on a 5-1 run to lead 21-17 before winning the fourth set 25-19.
Texas State will wrap up the regular season at home against James Madison Friday before the San Marcos Daily Record time of the press.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
