GAME NOTES

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State, along with all of the other teams in the Sun Belt Conference, has made it through the first round of conference play and are poised to start the second round at South Alabama Friday at 7 p.m. and Troy on Sunday at noon.
 
The Bobcats just faced both of those teams, South Alabama for the first time, this past weekend. Texas State went 2-0 against the teams, beating Troy in four and South Alabama in five. The only difference this time around is that the Bobcats are on the road playing in Jaguar Gym and Trojan Arena.
 
Texas State and Troy are just one game apart in the SBC standings with the Bobcats holding the advantage. Texas State is three games in front of South Alabama.
 
Molly Ahrens put up a career best 14 kills to lead the Bobcats past Troy and added 10 more against South Alabama last weekend. Amari Deardorff led Texas State in kills for the week with 13 against Troy and a team high 18 against South Alabama.
 
At the net, Ashlee Hilbun did the heavy lifting with 14 blocks in two matches to build on her eight blocks the week before against UALR. In the last three matches, Hilbun has 22 blocks. Sierra Smith continues to clean up the back row as she leads the squad in digs with 355, 125 more than Caylin Mahoney, the nearest Bobcat.
 
One thing that has changed from most of Texas State's first run through the Sun Belt is that the team has embraced more of a 6-2 rotation which means setter Jordan Moore and middle blocker/right side Brooke Smith have seen more time in recent matches.
 
Time will tell if the Bobcats continue that strategy. It's important to note, though, that since Texas State started running the 6-2 in the final three sets against UALR, the Bobcats are 8-4 in sets.
 
Texas State, currently tied for fifth in the SBC, has an opportunity to make up ground in the Sun Belt with every rematch against a conference opponent.
 
Fans will be able to follow live stats at www.usajaguars.com and www.troytrojans.com. Fans can catch live video at www.txstatebobcats.com/showcase. Bobcat fans can also catch twitter updates throughout the match at Texas State Volleyball's twitter account: @TexasStateVball.
 
Match Info
Site: Jaguar Gym / Trojan Arena – Mobile, Ala. / Troy, Ala.
Date: Friday, Oct. 25/Sunday, Oct. 27
Time: 7 p.m./12 p.m.