Volleyball | 10/3/2014 10:26:00 AM

SAN MARCOS – Texas State, one of two undefeated teams in Sun Belt Conference action, will put the team's 5-0 record on the line against UL Lafayette at 1 p.m. Saturday.
 
Match Info: Texas State (10-7, 5-0 SBC) vs. UL Lafayette (13-3, 3-3 SBC)
Site: Strahan Coliseum – San Marcos, Texas
Date: Saturday, October 4 – 1 p.m.
 
The Series
Texas State has faced UL Lafayette seven times in the all-time series, winning all seven, including three last season. The Bobcats swept the Ragin' Cajuns in the two regular season meetings, but UL Lafayette was the only team to take a set off Texas State in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament, winning the third set in a four-set victory for the Bobcats in the tournament opener.
 
While since departed Ashlee Hilbun led the team in kills the last time these teams met, returners Alexandra Simms and Shelby Vas Matt did plenty of damage to the Ragin' Cajuns in the 2013 tournament. Vas Matt tallied 13 kills while Simms put down 11 on a .321 percentage. Libero Sierra Smith added 22 digs while Caylin Mahoney and Kelsey Weynand combined for 25 digs. The Bobcats put down 10 blocks in the match.
 
On the Ragin' Cajuns
The Ragin' Cajuns were a perfect 10-0 headed into Sun Belt Conference play but have since gone 3-3, dropping their first three conference matches but rebounding nicely to win the last three. UL Lafayette swept Georgia Southern and beat previously unbeaten Appalachian State and Georgia State in five-set matches.
 
Setter Andrea Hole is coming off a strong week that led to SBC Setter of the Week recognition. The senior from Oslo, Norway, averaged 11.62 assists per set for the week and totaled a season-high 59 assists, four shy of her career high, against Appalachian State. The setter also added 19 digs, five kills, two blocks and a pair of aces in the match, picking up her 11^th double-double of the year.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns have a fairly balanced attack with four players between 120 and 158 kills on the season led by Sara Mossakowski. The most efficient hitter, though, is Abby Filce with 94 kills and a .310 hitting percentage. Hole, in addition to leading the squad in assists, also leads the team in aces with 20. Five Ragin' Cajuns have 10 aces or more for the year.
 
Defensively, Caitlyn Auxilien leads UL Lafayette in digs with 224 at 3.67 digs per set. Chanelle Gardner leads the squad in blocks with 55 total blocks, 22 more blocks than the next Ragin' Cajun.
 
On the Bobcats
The Ragin' Cajuns aren't the only ones to boast a weekly award winner coming into this match. Texas State's Jordan Kohl is the reigning SBC Freshman of the Week, the second Bobcat freshman to earn the award after Lauren Kirch did it the first week of the season.
 
Kohl has been on fire for the Bobcats, but they've been a dangerous team all around. As a team, Texas State leads the Sun Belt in overall kills, assists, aces and digs. Shelby Vas Matt leads the team in kills at 204. Kirch and Kelsey Weynand are the only other Bobcats with more than 100 kills, but Keeley Davis, Alexandra Simms and Kohl are all threats to put down double-digit kills in a match.
 
Running a 6-2 rotation for most of the season, setters Ali Gonzales and Jordan Moore have combined for 828 assists. Sierra Smith continues to be a threat in service, leading the team in aces with 21. Four other Bobcats have tallied double-digit aces for the season.
 
Smith also leads the team in digs with 326 but Vas Matt has 219 on the year proving to be a double-double machine with a conference-high 13 double-doubles. Kirch, meanwhile, leads the squad in blocks with 46, but Amanda Watkins had 44 to make it a fearsome duo in the middle for Texas State.


 
A Look Ahead
Next, Texas State will go to the road for a midweek match against UT Arlington on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. After that, the Bobcats return home to host Appalachian State on Friday at 6 p.m. and UL Monroe next Sunday at 12 p.m.