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SAN MARCOS – After finishing opening weekend with a 2-1 record at the Houston Cougar Classic, the Bobcats come home to host Baylor in the home opener at Strahan Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Bobcat fans, be sure to wear white to "White Out" the Bears Wednesday night.
 
Match Info: Texas State (2-1) vs. Baylor (2-1)
Site: Strahan Coliseum – San Marcos, Texas
Date: Wednesday, September 3
Time: 6:30 p.m.
 
The Series
Texas State and Baylor have a long history of matches between the two teams. The Bobcats hold the advantage, 28-13-22, in the all-time series. In fact, Texas State has the most recent win as well, taking down Baylor, 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 20-25, 26-24) in a thriller on September 10, 2013.
 
The Bobcats won the first two sets before falling to Baylor in the third and survived with a 26-24 win in the fifth. Former Bobcats Amari Deardorff and Ashlee Hilbun combined for 23 kills, but Shelby Vas Matt added 10 in the match with seven digs. Kelsey Weynand and Sierra Smith each tallied 15 digs a piece to help the Bobcats past Baylor.
 
On the Bears
Baylor won their first two matches but fell in their final match of the weekend to Portland, 3-0. The Bears did beat Abilene Christian, a team heading to San Marcos this weekend for the Delta Zeta Classic, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
The leading hitter for Baylor is Andie Malloy who has 49 kills in three matches, averaging nearly five kills per set. They're most efficient hitter, however, is Adrien Richburg hitting .833 with 10 kills on 12 attempts in just three sets. Setters Amy Rosenbaum and Morgan Reed have combined for 113 assists with Rosenbaum giving out the most at 72.
 
Defensively, Hope Ogden has the most digs for Baylor with 44, but there are five Bears with 20 or more already. The Bobcats will also have to find a way around the Baylor block. Tola Itiola has 13 blocks in three matches while Neka Cuppetilli has seven. For the season, the Bears have 25.5 blocks, averaging 2.55 blocks per set.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State is still tinker with the team's lineup, but the Bobcats found the right rotation to put down Houston with an impressive 3-1 victory. Freshman Lauren Kirch tallied 19 kills on a .586 hitting percentage to pace the Bobcats offensively. For the season she leads the team in kills with 41 while Shelby Vas Matt has 37. Vas Matt has double-doubled in each of the first three matches.
 
The duo were both recognized with All-Tournament honors at the Houston Cougar Classic while Kirch took home Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Week recognition for her performance.
 
Libero Sierra Smith hasn't missed a beat after her record-breaking season in 2013. She leads the team in digs with 42, 3.23 per set, and has even given out 14 assists. Amanda Watkins is leading the team at the net with nine blocks, but Kirch has eight and Alexandra Simms has tallied seven.
 
A Look Ahead
After Texas State's match against Baylor, the Bobcats will prepare to host Wichita State, Abilene Christian, North Texas and UTSA in the Delta Zeta Classic this weekend. The Bobcats will play at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday against Wichita State and UTSA respectively and follow it up with a 2 p.m. match against Abilene Christian and a 7 p.m. finale against North Texas on Saturday.