Volleyball | 11/18/2014 4:50:00 PM

SAN MARCOS – Texas State travels on the team's final regular season road trip this week to face Appalachian State and Georgia Southern before returning home to host the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championship at Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos over Thanksgiving weekend.
 
Match 1 Info: Texas State (19-11, 14-4 SBC) at Appalachian State (19-9, 9-9 SBC)
Site: Holmes Center – Boone, N.C.
Date: Thursday, November 20 – 6 p.m. Central Standard Time
 
Match 2 Info: Texas State (19-11, 14-4 SBC) at Georgia Southern (7-21, 6-12 SBC)
Site: Hanner Fieldhouse – Statesboro, Ga.
Date: Saturday, November 22 – 12 p.m. Central Standard Time
 
The Series
The Bobcats haven't played many matches with either team they will face this week. In fact, Texas State has only face Appalachian State twice in their history with one of those matches being a 3-0 sweep for the Bobcats this season. The only meeting between Georgia Southern and Texas State was the 3-0 sweep for the Bobcats on Oct. 25 this year.
 
Against Appalachian State, Kelsey Weynand hit 18 kills, averaging six kills per set, while Lauren Kirch added 13 kills on a .391 hitting percentage. Jordan Moore doubled up with 37 assists and 10 digs while Sierra Smith and Brenna Lyles combined for 25 digs. Amanda Watkins was in on five of Texas State's seven blocks in the sweep.
 
Both Alexandra Simms and Jordan Kohl led Texas State with 10 kills apiece the last match against Georgia Southern. Kirch added eight kills while Ali Gonzales and Moore combined for 38 assists. Lyles had 14 digs while Shelby Vas matt added 12, and Kirch put down six blocks while the team had nine total.
 
On the Mountaineers
Appalachian State has lost three consecutive matches coming into the weekend with the team's last victory being a sweep of Georgia Southern on Nov. 7. The Mountaineers have played to an even 9-9 record in conference play but are 7-2 in the SBC at home and 13-2 for the season in the Holmes Center.
 
Emily Corrigan is the team's leading hitter by far, with 450 kills on the season. Jess keller and Lauren Gray each have 300 kills or more, but after that, Jacqui Spurgeon is the next Mountaineer with just 92 kills. Corrigan averages 4.37 kills per set.
 
Setter Paige Brown has given out 1200 assists on the season, averaging 11.65 assists per set and also has 250 digs. Olivia Reed leads the team in service with 22 aces, but four others are in double-digits. Libero Meghan Mahoney has 433 digs for the year to lead the team, and four others are in triple digits.
 
The leading blocker on the squad is Gray with 75 blocks, 10 solo. Hailey Kerr has 72 blocks, but nobody else has more than Keller's 54.
 
In service, as a team, the Mountaineers are pretty even with just one more ace than opponents have against them, but they do have 106 kills more than their opponents, 1401-1295.
 
On the Eagles
Georgia Southern has lost four consecutive matches coming into the weekend and must face tough opponent UT Arlington on Friday before the Bobcats come to town. The Eagles are battling South Alabama for the final spot in the conference tournament so Georgia Southern has plenty for which to play.
 
Jamie DeRatt and Kym Coley lead the team in kills with 333 and 295 respectively. Cathrine Murray and Megan Chevalier have 245 and 209 kills while Leah Joseph is also in triple-digits with 102.
 
Setter Kat Minnerly has given out 1,068 assists on the year (10.37 per set) with 11 aces, but it's Avery Stephens who leads the team in service with 22 on the season. Ashley Jones has 18 while Murray and DeRatt combine for 23. Georgia Southern's opponents have 31 more aces than the Eagles, 138-107.
 
Stephens leads the squad in digs with 319 while DeRatt has 274. Minnerly, Murray and Moore are all in triple-digits as well. The leading blocker is Joseph with 91 for the season, but Coley has 77. Four others have 30 blocks or more for the year.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State won consecutive matches last weekend to give Head Coach Karen Chisum her 800^th career victory and take a two-match winning streak into this weekend. Jordan Kohl led the team in kills last week and it led her to a Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Week nod.
 
So far, in conference play, Lauren Kirch leads the team in kills with 162 while Kohl isn't far behind with 152. The Bobcats have had a balanced attack against conference opponents with five players who have hit 100 kills or more and two more with 90 kills or more. In 18 conference matches, the Bobcats have 142 more kills than opponents, 900-758.
 
Seven Bobcats have 150 kills or more on the season. Meanwhile, Caylin Mahoney has made her return to the lineup and has 144 assists in five matches. Texas State's leader in service is libero Sierra Smith with 28 on the year, but both Kirch and Shelby Vas Matt have 20 or more with four others in double-digits. Texas State has served up 52 more aces than opponents, 152-100.
 
Smith also leads the squad in digs with 457 while Vas Matt has 310. Six other Bobcats are in triple-digits. At the net defensively, Kirch leads the squad with 94 total blocks, but Amanda Watkins isn't far behind with 85. Brooke Smith came on strong last weekend with 11 blocks in just five sets played.
 
A Look Ahead
After this road trip, the Bobcats hope to be the second seed in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament, hosted by Texas State at Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos from Thanksgiving Thursday to Saturday for the championship. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament while all others will have to await their postseason fate.