Volleyball | 10/22/2014 9:44:00 AM

SAN MARCOS – Texas State makes it another split weekend on the road and at home as the Bobcats travel to face the Sun Belt Conference Leader, UALR, at 7 p.m. Thursday and return home to host Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. Saturday.
 
Match 1 Info: Texas State (14-9, 9-2 SBC) at UALR (17-4, 11-0 SBC)
Site: Jack Stephens Center – Little Rock, Ark.
Date: Thursday, October 23 – 7 p.m.
 
Match 2 Info: Texas State (14-9, 9-2 SBC) vs. Georgia Southern (5-15, 5-6 SBC)
Site: Strahan Coliseum – San Marcos, Texas
Date: Saturday, October 25 – 7 p.m.
 
The Series
Texas State has only faced UALR three times before with two meetings happening during the conference season in 2013. Both matches were five-set thrillers with each team winning on the other team's court.
 
The last meeting was Nov. 15, 2013, just two matches before the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament. The Bobcats were third in the SBC with UALR sitting second, but Texas State was able to win the second, fourth and fifth sets to gain victory. Amari Deardorff led the team with 18 kills on a .300 percentage while Kelsey Weynand and Ashlee Hilbun both hit for 12 kills with a .333 percentage. Caylin Mahoney gave out 32 assists with 11 digs and seven kills (.400), adding three blocks. Meanwhile, Hilbun tallied seven blocks while Weynand and Molly Ahrens each put down four. Sierra Smith had 17 digs while Weynand added 14.
 
Saturday's meeting with Georgia Southern will be the first time the teams have played each other.
 
On the Trojans
The Trojans have dominated the Sun Belt Conference with 11 consecutive victories to start conference play. Nobody in the SBC has pushed UALR to five sets as the Trojans have five sweeps and six 3-1 victories in the Sun Belt. The Trojans won their last non-conference match as well to make it a 12-match winning streak for UALR that the Bobcats will be looking to bust.
 
Sun Belt play has looked much the same as the rest of the season for UALR as the Trojans have put up a  17-4 overall record. Edina Begic and Sonja Milanovic have lead the Trojans on the season with 309 kills for Begic and 239 for Milanovic. In conference, Begic is averaging 4.72 kills per set while Milanovic is at 3.67 kills per set. Milanovic is also strong on the back end with 236 digs, second to libero Capri Rino who has 260 for the season.
 
Begic has 157 digs herself for third on the team followed by Megan Mathis with 109. Mathis is the team's primary setter with 669 assists on the year for a 10.1 assists per set average, an average that goes up to 10.9 in conference play.
 
Carolee Dillard leads the squad in blocks with 95 while Edina Selimovic has 88. In conference play, though, it has ben Selimovic leading the team with 61 blocks for an average of 1.56 blocks per set. Dillard is second in conference play with 44 blocks.
 
On the Eagles
Georgia Southern started the season 0-12 until picking up the team's first victory on the road against UL Monroe. Since then, the Eagles have gone 6-3 with four consecutive victories coming into the weekend. Three of those wins have come over Sun Belt opponents South Alabama, UL Monroe and UL Lafayette with the most recent win in the streak being a 3-0 sweep of Savannah State.
 
Jamie DeRatt leads the Eagles offensively with 248 kills on the season (3.35 kills per set), and Kym Coley is just behind with 214 kills. Kat Minnerly has given out 781 assists in the team's 5-1 rotation while Avery Stephens leads the team in digs with 216 (2.88 digs per set). Four other Eagles have 120 digs or more.
 
The team's leading blocker is Leah Joseph with 65 on the season but Coley has 56 with 11 solo blocks, five more than Joseph's solos. The team has 86 aces to 99 for opponents with Ashley Jones leading the way with 16. Three others have 10 aces or more.

On the Bobcats
While Texas State hasn't won 12 consecutive matches like UALR, the Bobcats have won nine of the team's last 11 matches with both losses coming on the road. The Bobcats will be on the road for this match against UALR before returning home to host Georgia Southern.
 
Lauren Kirch just passed Shelby Vas Matt for the team leadin kills with 248 on the season, four more than Vas Matt. In conference play, Kirch has 111 kills, just three more than Kelsey Weynand with 108 kills in the SBC, averaging 3.00 kills per set to lead the team in average kills. The leading percentage hitter in conference play is Amanda Watkins at .311 with 70 kills, averaging 1.79 per set.
 
Jordan Moore and Ali Gonzales continue to split time at the setter position with Moore leading the way in conference with 258 assists to 206 for Gonzales. Overall for the season, Moore has 626 while Gonzales has given out 421 assists.
 
The Bobcats have put together an overwhelming advantage over opponents in service with 122 aces to just 77 for opponents. The discrepancy is even larger in conference play with 52 aces to just 24 for opponents.
 
Sierra Smith continues to lead in digs with 388 for 4.36 digs per set but is averaging 4.47 digs per set in conference play. Vas Matt is at 266 while four other Bobcats are over 100 for the season. Watkins and Kirch lead the team's defensive efforts at the net with 66 blocks for Watkins and 63 for Kirch.
 
A Look Ahead
Next up for the Bobcats will be a two-match road trip to face UL Lafayette on Halloween night Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. followed by South Alabama at 12 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2. Then Texas State returns home for a three-match home stand against UALR, Georgia State and Troy before finishing the regular season on the road against Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.