SAN MARCOS, TEXAS | Cambria Gaier and Sarah Gooch combined for 38 kills, and Dalayla Blackwell returned to the South Alabama to record her first career double-double, but Texas State handed the Jaguars their first conference loss Thursday night with a 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 17-25, 25-21, 18-16) win at Strahan Arena.

Gaier led all players with a career-high 20 kills, while she also had a career-best seven total blocks – two solo and five assists for South Alabama (9-7, 4-1 SBC). Gooch was right behind her with 18 kills of her own and three total blocks, while posting a .310 hitting percentage.

In her first match back, Blackwell recorded 10 kills, hit .471 and posted a career high 11 total blocks – one solo and 10 assists. 

Maradith O'Gorman also added five block assists and registered a career-high 17 digs in the loss, while Bri Wilson finished with a match-high 23 digs.

Texas State (8-8, 3-2 SBC) was led offensively by Samantha Wunsch's 15 kills and three aces. Wunsch also led the Bobcats with 17 digs and had five block assists. Jade Defraeye also had five block assists and Bailey Hanner led the team with eight of her own.

Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On the match: "I thought out team battled pretty hard. Kudos to Texas State, because they really came at us. It was a great match that I thought could have gone either way. We had our opportunities so we're pretty bummed out, but well be ready tomorrow and see if we can get a 'W."

How It Happened 
Set 1 – Texas State 25, South Alabama 21
•    KEY MOMENT: Tied late in the match, Texas State was able to push across five of the final six points to take the opening set
•    Texas State led by as much as five early on, but South Alabama battled back and cut the Bobcat lead to one (14-13) after a block assists from Blackwell and Gooch
•    South kept chipping away and tied the set back up (16-16) after an ace by Gaier and another block assists by Blackwell and O'Gorman
•    Tied 20-20, Texas State's Hanner and Nina Moorer each recorded a kill to ignite a 5-1 Bobcat run to close the set

Set 2 – South Alabama 25, Texas State 22
•    KEY MOMENT: Tied at 22-22, Blackwell and Gaier slammed home a kill each to begin a 3-0 spurt to close the second set for the Jags
•    O'Gorman gave South Alabama a 10-7 lead after an ace and Texas State answered back with three-straight points to tie the frame back
•    Tied 10-10, Eva Dittmar slammed home her fifth kill of the match to begin a 5-1 Jaguar run
•    Gooch later capped off the run and put South up 15-11 with another kill heading into the media timeout
•    With the Jags leading 15-13, Gooch recorded three of South's next four points – two kills and a solo block to extend their lead out to 19-14
•    South Alabama later led 21-15, but Texas State rattled off six unanswered points to tie the set back up
•    Wunsch began the scoring with a kill and later capped off the 6-0 run with back-to-back service aces
•    Tied 22-22, Gaier and Blackwell recorded back-to-back kills and South then picked up the 25-22 second-set win after a Bobcat attack error
•    Gooch (5) and Gaier (4) combined to record nine of South's 14 kills in the frame

Set 3 – South Alabama 25, Texas State 17
•    KEY MOMENT: With Texas State holding a one-point advantage early on in the set, Gaier sparked a 6-1 Jaguar run to give South the lead for good
•    Trailing 7-6, Gaier led a 6-1 Jaguar run as the freshman had a pair of kills and a pair of blocks
•    Gooch capped off the run and gave South Alabama a 12-8 advantage with her 10th kill of the match
•    Texas State narrowed the Jaguar lead to 16-13, but South Alabama closed out strong rattling off nine of the final 13 points
•    South led 22-15 after another kill by Gaier – one of her six kills in the set – and Blackwell later sealed the win with fifth kill of the match following a block
•    Gaier hit .417 in the set and Blackwell recorded three block assists
•    As a team, South Alabama posted its best offensive numbers in the third set recording 16 kills and committing just three errors in its 31 attacks for a .419 percentage
•    The Jag defense also held the Bobcats to a .034 hitting percentage 

Set 4 – Texas State 25, South Alabama 21
•    KEY MOMENT: After the Jags fought off a pair of set points, Wunsch clinched the fourth-set win with her 11th kill of the night
•    Holding a one-point lead (5-4) early on in the fourth set, Texas State stretched its lead out to 13-7 after block assists by Defraeye and Wunsch – the Bobcats' fifth over the first 13 points
•    Over the next eight points, Gaier, Blackwell and Gooch led the Jaguars back, scoring all seven points for South during a 7-1 run
•    Gaier and Blackwell began the run with another block assists, and after a kill by Gaier, the duo combined for another block
•    Gooch and Gaier added three more kills with Gooch tying the set at 14-14 with a put away
•    Texas State answered back with three-straight points to retake the lead to take a 17-14 lead after an ace by Alyssa Clark
•    South Alabama trimmed the deficit to 21-19 after a kill by Gaier, but the Bobcats pushed across three-straight points to hold set point
•    Blackwell and Gooch each recorded a kill for South as the Jags fought off a pair of set points, but on the ensuing point, Wunsch sealed the 25-21 win for the Bobcats
•    Gooch led South with five kills in the frame, while Blackwell and Gaier combined to record all seven of the Jaguars' blocks in the set

Set 5 – Texas State 18, South Alabama 16
•    KEY MOMENT: Holding match point in extra points, Brooke Bente went up and turned by a Jaguar attack to clinch the match for the Bobcats
•    After trailing by two early on in the fifth set, South Alabama pushed across three points and took an 8-7 lead after an ace by Alexa Strandberg
•    The set remained close throughout as there were 14 ties and eight lead changes
•    South Alabama had a chance to take the match in extra points, holding a 15-14 advantage after block assists by O'Gorman and Anna Loberg, but Hanner though tied the set back up with a kill 
•    Tied at 16-16 two points later, the Bobcats took the lead for good after a Jag attack error, and Bente then sealed the 18-16 set win with a solo block

Post-Match Notes
•    The five-set match marked the seventh in the all-time series
•    Blackwell has posted eight or more points in eight of her 11 matches
•    Blackwell (106) eclipsed the 100-block mark for her career with her 11 total blocks
•    The double-double was the first of Blackwell's career
•    The 11 total blocks are tied for the most in a match this season by a Jaguar (Alexa Strandberg, at Milwaukee [9/7] | 11.0 – 5-6)
•    The 17.0 total team blocks by South Alabama were tied for seventh-most in a match and the most since recording 21.0 versus Texas State (10/22/22)
•    Gooch now has 27 sets with four or more kills, while Gaier has 26 sets this fall
•    Gooch also now has 49 sets with four or more kills in her Jaguar career, including 17 of six or more
•    Gooch has reached double figures in kills 12 times – 26 for her career – this season, while Gaier has done so in 10 of her last 12 matches (11 total)
•    With her 18 kills, Gooch now has 516 for her career, including 509 during her time at South Alabama
•    Gooch has hit .310 or better in nine of her last 11 matches and had a block in nine of her last 13

Up Next
•    South Alabama will close out the series with the Bobcats on Friday with first serve set for 6 p.m.

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