Bobcats Sweep James Madison on Senior Weekend

By Keilani De Luna and Mikah Lusby

SAN MARCOS, Tx – The Bobcats defeat the James Madison Dukes 3-1 on Thursday and a complete sweep Friday evening. 

Aside from being Homecoming week at Texas State, it was senior night at Strahan Arena, and some pillars of strength from the Bobcat team were recognized. 

A fifth-year senior and star setter Ryan Torres was applauded for her contributions to the team. She ranks 35th in assists in the entire NCAA and currently has 2,162 in her D1 career.  

Senior libero Alyssa Ortega was also praised for her hard work. She has been with the Bobcats since 2022 and has over 1000 career digs. 

Texas State defeated Madison on night one of this series. Outside hitter Samantha Wunsch for the Bobcats finished the night with 22 kills and 5 blocks and middle blocker Bailey Hanner with 12 kills and 4 blocks. 

Texas State last faced Madison in the 2023 Sun Belt Conference tournament. The Bobcats fell into a heartbreaker in five sets despite playing some of their best volleyball.  

The Bobcats returned all but three of their players who played in that match, KJ Johnson, Jackie Lee and Sophie Childs, who were a major impact in this series. 

The Bobcats took set one and the Dukes responded back by taking set two on Friday night. The back row for Texas State was struggling during the second set as Madison continuously kept aiming at the same spot.  

The Dukes take the second set as they caused chaos for the Bobcats, but Texas State responded with a beautiful block party for the next three plays. Set three was the game to watch, talk about a good rally, the Bobcats took the win 29-27 as Hanner puts it away for the Bobcats.  

Outside hitter Maggie Walsh and Hanners’ connection was great to see. Hanner was able to score five points back-to-back for the Bobcats as she found the sweet spot that the Dukes struggled with, which was deep down in the corner.  

The Bobcats ended the second game in the Madison series with a flawless 3-0.  

The first set was close in the beginning with seven ties and five lead changes. After breaking a 10-10 tie, the Bobcats held the Dukes to only five points and ended the set 25-15. However, the second came much easier to Texas State. They started with a 6-0 run and kept the lead for the rest of the game. Outside hitters Samantha Wunch and MJ McCurdy had eleven kills combined and won the set 25-11.  

Madison took the third set by the reins with a 6-1 lead forcing a Bobcat timeout. A service ace by Ryan Torres followed by a kill by Wunch is what put the Dukes down for the first time in the set (14-15). The Bobcats didn’t let up the lead after that. They ended the final set with an ace by Alyssa Clark and a final score of 25-18.  

After this weekend, the Bobcats’ winning streak extends to eight games and puts them second in the SBC West. The Bobcats will look to continue their streak next weekend, Friday Nov. 22 at 11:00 am. They will kick off the Sun Belt Tournament with another match against James Madison Dukes.