Volleyball | 10/9/2014 11:49:00 AM

SAN MARCOS – Texas State will look bounce back from the team's first Sun Belt Conference loss on Wednesday this weekend when the Bobcats host Appalachian State in the first meeting between the teams since 2000 and UL Monroe after beating the Warhawks earlier this season.
 
Match 1 Info: Texas State (11-8, 6-1 SBC) vs. Appalachian State (15-2, 5-2 SBC)
Site: Strahan Coliseum – San Marcos, Texas
Date: Friday, October 10 – 6 p.m.
 
Match 2 Info: Texas State (11-8, 6-1 SBC) vs. UL Monroe (6-14, 0-7 SBC)
Site: Strahan Coliseum – San Marcos, Texas
Date: Friday, October 12 – 12 p.m.
 
The Series
Texas State and Appalachian State have only met once in their histories, a 3-0 victory for the Bobcats back on Sept. 9, 2000. The teams met at the Hokie Classic, a tournament hosted by Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., and the Bobcats were able to sweep App State, 15-1, 15-8, 15-3.
 
The Warhawks of ULM and Texas State have a much longer history, but it's a story of dominance for the Bobcats. Texas State owns a 35-2 advantage over UL Monroe in the all-time series and has only dropped five sets to the Warhawks since 1998. The Bobcats have swept ULM in 17 of the last 20 meetings between the teams.
 
In the only meeting so far this season between the teams, four separate Bobcats hit for double-digit kills led by freshman Jordan Kohl. She finished with 15 kills on the day while Kelsey Weynand had 13, Shelby Vas Matt tallied 11 and Lauren Kirch finished with 10. Both Weynand (13 kills, 17 digs) and Vas Matt (11 kills, 13 digs) had double-doubles in the match. Sierra Smith led the team in digs with 22 while Keeley Davis took the lead at the net with four block assists, helping Texas State to five blocks in the 3-1 victory (25-18, 27-25, 25-20, 25-21) on the road.
 
On the Mountaineers
Appalachian State started the season on fire, winning 13 consecutive matches with nine of them being sweeps. Three weeks this season, the Mountaineers have received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Top 25 Poll and even beat a ranked team in No. 24 Louisville on September 6 with a 3-1 victory.
 
On September 26, however, at UL Lafayette, the Mountaineers fell in a five-set thriller for one of the Ragin' Cajuns' four conference victories on the season. UL Lafayette currently sits seventh in the SBC. After that, Appalachian State fell to conference leader UALR in four sets at home. Since then, the Mountaineers have rebounded with victories at home over South Alabmaa and Troy. After three home matches, this will be App State's first road match since the team's first loss of the season on September 26.
 
Most of the team's offense runs through Emily Corrigan. Her 305 kills (5.08 kills per set) are 120 more than any other Mountaineer and constitutes 35.67 percent of the team's kills. Setter Paige Brown orchestrates the offense with 735 assists on the season, good enough for 12.25 assists per set. She is a four-time SBC Setter of the Week this season.
 
As a team, App State averages 15.93 digs per set and have 956 on the season led by Meghan Mahoney's 244. Hailey Kerr leads the team in blocks with 51 on the season and not far behind is Lauren Gray with 44. The team averages 1.84 blocks per set.
 
On the Warhawks
UL Monroe stands at 6-14 on the season and has gone winless in Sun Belt Conference action. The Warhawks have lost seven consecutive matches since the start of the conference season. Of the team's 14 losses, 11 of them were sweeps.
 
The Bobcats will have to guard against Hadley Swartz (170 kills) and Hope Pawlik (159 kills), the team leaders in kills for ULM. Bayleigh Hoffman leads the team in assists with 508 on the year. Libero Marcela Araya is second in the conference in digs at 5.40 per set with 351 on the year. Alannah Cullum leads the team in blocks with 37 while Kaitlyn Shearer has 33 for the season.
 
The Warhawks are also dangerous in service with 97 aces on the year, 1.49 per set. Hoffman has 20 while three others are in double-digits. UL Monroes has served up 14 more aces than opponents this year.
 
Against the Bobcats this season, Swartz put down 17 kills while Pawlik tallied 13 in the meeting. Hoffman gave out 38 assists while Araya finished with 25 digs. Pawlik and Hoffman combined for 21 digs. Of the 10 blocks ULM had in the match, Cullum was in on seven of them. The Warhawks actually hit for a better percentage than the Bobcats, .199 to .183.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State started the conference season hot with six consecutive victories, but UT Arlington finally handed the Bobcats their first loss Wednesday night. Still, Texas State had its best start to the conference season since 2003 and currently sit second in the conference behind UALR.
 
With the good work they've done in conference matches this season, the Bobcats currently lead the Sun Belt in kills (14.38 per set), aces (1.38 per set), digs (19.38 per set) and assists (13.77 per set) during conference play.
 
One of Texas State's strengths is the team's versatility. A total of seven different players have struck double-digit kills in at least three matches this season, proving that any hitter can be a threat to opponents. The Bobcats also hold an overwhelming advantage in service this season with 106 aces compared to just 64 from opponents. The leading server is libero Sierra Smith with 22, but four others have double-digit aces on the season.
 
Shelby Vas Matt leads the team in kills (215) and double-doubles (13) while Smith leads the team in digs (351) in addition to aces. Freshman Lauren Kirch has the most blocks on the squad with 52 but Amanda Watkins isn't far behind with 52. Jordan Moore leads in assists with 504 but has split duty with Ali Gonzales, who has given out 387 assists.
 
Both of this week's opponents will have to be aware of Watkins who has come on strong lately. Against UL Lafayette she tied a career high in kills with nine and set a new career high in hitting percentage at .467. She did even better in the loss at UT Arlington, hitting for a new career high 12 kills with just one error for a .423 hitting percentage.
 
A Look Ahead
Next, the Bobcats will travel to Georgia State for a Friday match at 5 p.m. CST/ 6 p.m. EST in Atlanta. After that, Texas State returns home to host Arkansas State at 12 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19 before taking to the road to face conference leader UALR on October 23.