GAME NOTES

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State Bobcats will will head to Huntsville for their first road volleyball match of the season to take on former Southland Conference foe Sam Houston State at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
 
The Bobcats are coming off an impressive opening weekend in which Texas State won the Delta Zeta Classic Championship with wins over SMU, Houston, Lamar and Quinnipiac. Texas State only dropped one set in four matches en route to the championship while Amari Deardorff was named the Most Valuable Player and Caylin Mahoney earned recognition for the Most Valuable Setter. Ashlee Hilbun was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Meanwhile, Sam Houston State went 1-2 in the Bearkats' opening weekend. Sam Houston State fell to Norfolk State, 3-1, and Appalachian State, 3-0, before bouncing back against Loyola-Maryland, 3-1, at the Appalachian State Classic in Boone, N.C.
 
Texas State owns a 53-48-1 advantage over Sam Houston State in the all-time series, winning the three most recent matches. In the last meeting, the two teams battled through five sets, but Texas State persevered for a 3-2 (25-22, 12-25, 25-15, 21-25, 16-14) victory at Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos early last season. Alexandra Simms led the team in the match with 11 kills while Ashlee Hilbun added 10. Mahoney, splitting time, gave out 17 assists and was in on three block assists with eight digs.
 
The Bearkats keyed on Deardorff in the last meeting, only allowing five kills while forcing seven errors on 33 attacks so the Bobcats will have to plan for that again. Simms, Hilbun, and freshmen Shelby Vas Matt and Kelsey Weynand will have to step up to relieve some of the offensive pressure from Deardorff.
 
It was a defensive battle last season as both teams combined for 29 blocks. Texas State hit for just a .046 hitting percentage while Sam Houston State finished at .032.
 
Fans will be able to follow along with all of the action live on video at www.gobearkats.com.
 
Match Info
Site: Johnson Coliseum – Huntsville, Texas
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 3
Time: 7 p.m.
 
Complete Game Notes