Volleyball | 11/13/2014 2:59:00 PM

SAN MARCOS – Texas State will host Georgia State Friday night at 6:30 p.m. and Troy at the same time Saturday night for the team's final regular season home games of the season. Friday, the Bobcats will exercise breast cancer awareness with the team's annual "Dig Pink" night. Saturday, Texas State will follow up with the team's senior night.
 
Match 1 Info: Texas State (17-11, 12-4 SBC) vs. Georgia State (9-16, 7-9 SBC)
Site: Strahan Coliseum – San Marcos, Texas
Date: Friday, November 14 – 6:30 p.m.
 
Match 2 Info: Texas State (17-11, 12-4 SBC) vs. Troy (9-20, 1-16 SBC)
Site: Strahan Coliseum – San Marcos, Texas
Date: Saturday, November 15 – 6:30 p.m.
 
The Series
Texas State holds an advantage in the all-time series against both opponents this weekend. Against the Panthers of Georgia State the Bobcats have a 3-2 edge, but the Panthers did get the better of Texas State in the last meeting, a 3-1 loss on the road for Texas State. Meanwhile, the Bobcats have never lost against Troy in four meetings, although the teams did play to five sets when they met Sept. 27.
 
Against the Panthers in Atlanta, Alexandra Simms led the Bobcats with 13 kills while Lauren Kirch added 10. Amanda Watkins chipped in nine more kills on a .400 hitting percentage while Keeley Davis finished with 14 digs and seven kills. Kirch added three blocks in the four-set loss.
 
At Troy, after winning the first set, the Bobcats went down, 2-1. Texas State was able to win the fourth set, 25-20, and the fifth set, 15-12, to beat the Trojans. Jordan Kohl led the team with 18 kills while Kirch and Davis combined for 22 more kills. Ali Gonzales and Jordan Moore combined for 55 assists in the match, and Sierra Smith led the team in digs with 25. Kelsey Weynand added 19 digs. Both Moore and Gonzales finished with double-doubles, adding 16 and 10 digs respectively. Watkins finished with seven blocks while Kohl added six. Kirch finished with five blocks.
 
On the Panthers
Georgia State has split in the team's last two matches, but before that won three in a row. Texas State was the first in that run of three, and the Panthers have gone 5-2 since. They are coming off a four-set win over UL Monroe after a 3-1 loss to Arkansas State.
 
Deidra Bohannon and Eliza Zachary are the main offensive threats with 352 and 308 kills respectively. Kitan Ajanaku and Kristina Stinson are third and fourth on the team with 174 and 122 kills. Natalia Nieto orchestrates the offense and is averaging 9.40 assists per set with 874 assists. She also has 21 aces but Sydney Mauer leads the team in service with 33 aces. Libero Gabby Serafin leads the team in dig with 331 while Bohannon is second with 242 digs. At the net, Zachary leads the team in blocks with 59 while Ajanaku has 44.
 
On the Trojans
Troy has toughed out a disappointing season and comes into this weekend's match in last place in the Sun Belt Conference and is already eliminated from the conference tournament. The Trojans won their first conference match of the season against Georgia Southern but has lost 16 consecutive matches since.
 
The Bobcats will have to prepare for a fairly balanced Troy offensive attack. Blair Winston leads the team I 327 kills while Symone Shaw adds 285 kills and Marija Zelenovic has 246 on the season. Kiah Cheatham and Darby Griff are the other Trojans with more than 100 kills, sitting at 199 and 194 respectively.
 
Tineille Waggoner has given out 814 assists, averaging 9.58 assists per set while Reina Terry added 283. Ali Dowdall leads the team in digs with 541 while both Curran and Zelenovic has over 200 digs apiece. The team leader in blocks is Griff with 99 while Cheatham has added 79 so far.
 
Troy has 109 service aces on the year, and Cheatham leads the way with 20 aces. Six other Trojans are in double digits.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State had won three consecutive matches coming into the team's last match, a faceoff against SBC leader UALR. Unfortunately, the Bobcats fell in a sweep by UALR and will be looking to bounce back.
 
It will be Caylin Mahoney's fourth match of the season since her return to action. So far, she has given out 100 assists with 19 kills, 35 digs, nine blocks and two aces.
 
Offensively, Lauren Kirch leads the team in kills with 281 while Shelby Vas Matt is at 255 and Kelsey Weynand is at 217 for the season. Four other Bobcats have 150 kills or more. In addition, three Bobcats have 23 aces or more, led by Sierra Smith with 28, Kirch with 25 and Vas Matt with 23. Four other Bobcats have double-digit aces to help Texas State hold a 144-90 advantage in service over opponents.
 
In addition to leading the team in aces, Smith also leads in digs with 436. Vas Matt has 307, and five other Bobcats have 130 digs or more for the year. In blocks, Kirch leads the team with 86 while Amanda Watkins has 84 so far this season.
 
A Look Ahead
Texas State will take its final regular season road trip next weekend to face Appalachian State and Georgia Southern next Thursday and Saturday. The Bobcats will square off against the Mountaineers at 6 p.m. Thursday and the Eagles at 12 p.m. Saturday. After that, the Bobcats will return home to host the Sun Belt Conference Championship over Thanksgiving weekend.