Game Notes

San Marcos, Texas – Texas State volleyballs fans will have two more opportunities to see the Bobcats at Strahan Coliseum this season as the team wraps up its regular season schedule with home matches on Thursday and Saturday. Both contests are significant for Texas State in order to gain momentum for the Southland Conference Tournament coming up next weekend.

On Thursday, the Bobcats will play their I-35 rivals UTSA for the second time this season. Texas State defeated the Roadrunners earlier this season in San Antonio, marking the last loss that UTSA has suffered. The game is especially important for UTSA, which is looking to maintain its hold on the top seed for the SLC Tournament.

Texas State's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be holding a food drive in conjunction with Thursday's match, and the Bobcats are offering an incentive to contribute. Anyone bringing two non-perishable food items for the food drive can purchase a ticket to the match for just two dollars. All food drive donations will go to the Hays County Food Bank.

Also, fans will have the opportunity to win one of five volleyballs signed by the Bobcats at Thursday's match. In order to enter the drawing for one of the volleyballs, fans need to visit the Texas State volleyball Facebook page (www.facebook.com/texasstatevball), print out the entry slip and turn it into the fan relations booth at the game. Winners will be announced between the second and third sets.

On Saturday, Texas State plays Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the first time since opening SLC play against the Islanders back in September. Texas State won that contest and will look to maintain its perfect all-time record against the Islanders when the two teams face off at 2 p.m.

Saturday also marks Senior Day for Texas State, which will recognize four seniors – Melinda Cave, Shelbi Irvin, Mo Middleton and AJ Watlington – playing their final contests in Strahan Coliseum prior to the match.

Ticket information for both contests can be found by clicking on “Ticket Center” in the upper right-hand corner of txstatebobcats.com.

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Scouting Texas State (17-11, 10-4 SLC)
The Bobcats put their depth on display during that last two games. Against Nicholls, every player on the Texas State roster contributed to the victory before the team put together another balanced performance in a three-set win against Southeastern Louisiana.

Texas State continues to rank among the conference leaders in nearly every statistical category. The Bobcats lead the conference in hitting percentage at .248 and are second in the SLC in opponent hitting percentage at .165. Texas State is third in kills per set (13.02), assists per set (11.94) and blocks per set (2.21) while ranking fifth in aces per set (1.38).

Freshman Amari Deardorff has been playing at a very high level for the Bobcats of late. The right side hitter has posted at least eight kills and a .300 hitting percentage or higher in eight of the team's last 10 contests.

Scouting UTSA (19-9, 13-1 SLC)
Head Coach: Laura Goff
Conference: Southland
All-Time Series: Texas State leads, 48-10
Last Meeting: Texas State won, 3-1 (9/25/10)

UTSA enters Thursday's showdown with the Bobcats sporting the conference's longest winning streak at 12 matches. The Roadrunners last SLC loss came in their first matchup with Texas State this season when the Bobcats downed UTSA in San Antonio, 3-1. Since that time, the Roadrunners have won all 12 matches, including a win over Central Arkansas that snapped the Sugar Bears' third longest winning streak in the nation.

The Roadrunners excel on the defensive side of the net where they rank first in the Southland Conference in blocks per set and second in digs per set. Offensively, their top weapon is senior Kendra Rowland who was recently named the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week. She is one of just six players in the SLC to average more than 3.0 kills per set this season.

Scouting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (12-16, 5-9 SLC)
Head Coach: Tony Graystone
Conference: Southland
All-Time Series: Texas State leads, 13-0
Last Meeting: Texas State won, 3-0 (9/24/10)

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas State met to begin both teams 2010 SLC slates, and the two teams will meet again to wrap them up. The Bobcats took the first meeting of the in four sets in Corpus Christi. Since then, the Islanders have battled to a 5-9 Southland Conference record which puts them on the bubble for getting into the conference tournament. Most recently, the Islanders lost to Sam Houston State after defeating Stephen F. Austin a weekend ago.

Senior Emma Ridley leads the Islanders offensively with a Southland Conference-best 3.91 kills per set average. She is also among the team leaders in digs per set at 2.91. Logen Bouque handles the setting duties for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and is averaging 9.00 assists per set.

Top Notes
Last Week
The Bobcats returned to Strahan Coliseum and won a pair of SLC matches against Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana.

Against UTSA
The Bobcats will look to sweep the season series against UTSA for the second straight year. Texas State is 8-2 against the Roadrunners in the two teams' last 10 meetings.

Against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Texas State looks to keep its unblemished mark against the Islanders alive this weekend. The Bobcats are 13-0 against TAMUCC all time.

Perfection In SLC Home Matches
The Bobcats have the opportunity to finish the regular season with an undefeated record at Strahan Coliseum against their Southland Conference opponents with a pair of wins this weekend. The last time the Bobcats accomplished the feat was in 2008.

Regular Season Finales
Texas State is 8-2 over its last 10 regular season finales. Each of the past two seasons, the Bobcats have faced off against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in their regular season finale, and the Bobcats came away with three-set victories on both occasions.

Southland Conference Standings
The Bobcats sit in second place in the Southland Conference West Division with an 10-4 SLC record. Texas State sits behind UTSA which leads the division with an 13-1 mark. In the East Division, Central Arkansas leads with a 13-1 record, while Lamar is second with an 8-6 record. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is in fifth place in the SLC West with a 5-9 mark.

Winning Season
Texas State clinched its eighth consecutive winning season in conference play with a win against Nicholls on Nov. 4. The Bobcats have now recorded at least 10 conference victories in each of the team's last eight seasons.

SLC Tournament
The Bobcats can clinch the third seed in the SLC Tournament with a win in one of the team's two matches this weekend.