Volleyball | 9/17/2015 1:32:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Bobcats are through with the first part of the season, and now it's time for the "second season". Texas State opens up conference play this weekend against Georgia State and UL Lafayette at 6 p.m. Friday and 12 p.m. Sunday respectively. Texas State only has one non-conference match the rest of the season.
 
Match 1 Info: Texas State (5-7) vs. Georgia State (4-6)
Site: Strahan Coliseum, San Marcos, Texas
Date: Friday, September 18 – 6 p.m.
 
Match 2 Info: Texas State (5-7) vs. UL Lafayette (3-8)
Site: Strahan Coliseum, San Marcos, Texas
Date: Sunday, September 20 – 12 p.m.
 
The Series
Vs. Georgia State: 5-2      
Last Meeting: W, 3-0 (11/27/14)
 
Texas State won two of three meetings against Georgia State in 2014, dropping only the match in Atlanta. The most important match the two teams played against each other was in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament. The Bobcats took that match with a 3-0 sweep (25-13, 25-21, 25-16).
 
The Bobcats jumped on top early with an impressive opening set win, 25-13, and dominated throughout with 37 kills to Georgia State's 22, six aces to two and 10 blocks to just one. Jordan Kohl led the team in kills with eight while Shelby Vas Matt added seven, but Texas State used a balanced offensive attack with five student-athletes with five kills or more in the match. Caylin Mahoney gave out 25 assists while Alexandra Simms tallied three service aces. Kohl added five blocks while Vas Matt led the team in digs with 12.
 
Vs. UL Lafayette: 9-0
Last Meeting: W, 3-2 (10/31/14)
 
Texas State owns the series over UL Lafayette, never having lost in nine meetings. The last match, however, the Bobcats had to survive a five-setter with a furious comeback from the Ragin' Cajuns on their home court.
 
After the Bobcats won the first two sets of the last match on Halloween night last season, UL Lafayette survived the third set, 25-23. After that, the Ragin' Cajuns put on a strong performance to win the fourth set, 25-13, but the Bobcats prevailed in the fifth set to take the match, 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 13-25, 15-12.
 
Simms and Kohl led the team with 11 kills apiece while Keeley Davis put down eight kills in the match. Both Lauren Kirch and Amanda Watkins had seven kills each while Mahoney gave out 39 assists. Sierra Smith made it a double-double with 11 assists and 24 digs to lead the team defensively. Mahoney added 17 digs while Lauren Kirch put down five block assists. Kohl added four.
 
On the Panthers
Georgia State had a rough start to its season, dropping the first three matches, but rebounded with three consecutive victories. After a loss to intrastate rivalry Kennesaw State, the Panthers went 1-2 in their own Georgia State Invitational, dropping their most recent two matches.
 
Kristina Stinson and Deidra Bohannon lead the team offensively with 250 kills combined. Stinson has the edge with responsibility for 130. Kitan Ajanaku has 91 kills while no other Panther has more than 68. Natalia Nieto is running the offense with 390 assists (9.75 assists per set) so far this year. Meanwhile, Sydney Mauer leads the team in service aces with 19 while Stinson has 16.
 
Defensively, Gabby Serafin has 184 digs on the year while Bohannon has dug up 127 balls. Mauer and Stinson have combined for 113 digs. At the net, Ajanaku leads the team in blocks with 30, six solo. Both Eliza Zachary and Bohannon have six solo blocks each and 23 each for the season. The Panthers have six more blocks than their opponents this year.
 
On the Ragin' Cajuns
Like the Panthers, UL Lafayette started 2015 slow. The Ragin' Cajuns dropped four consecutive matches to start the year 0-4. After that, though, UL Lafayette beat Jackson State and Nicholls State before falling to Houston. The team picked up its most recent win against Southern before falling in three matches in a row against Rice, Colorado and Sam Houston State at the Rice Invitational.
 
Coming off three losses, the Ragin' Cajuns will be looking to get a good start to the conference season. Chanelle Gardner will lead the team into action with 95 kills on the season. No other Cajun has more than Katey Kyle's 58. Sara Mossakowski has 47 kills on the year for the team's highest average of 2.76 kills per set. She has only played in 17 sets.
 
The new setter for UL Lafayette, Jessica Bartczyszyn, has given out 324 assists this season for an average of 8.31 assists per set. She also has 68 digs on the season, second only to Sydney Davis with 134 digs to lead the team. Gardner leads the team in blocks with 35 while Bartczyszyn has 20. Julia Pasch has 17 blocks on the year, and Mossakowski and Kyle each have 10.
 
So far, opponents have served up 16 more aces than UL Lafayette and have struck 109 more kills with 78 more digs. The Ragin' Cajuns have outblocked their opponents, though, 69.5-61.0.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State put on an impressive performance to sweep Sam Houston State, a team that swept UL Lafayette, in the team's last outing. However, before that, the Bobcats had dropped four of their five previous matches after a 3-0 start to the Delta Zeta Classic. Texas is looking to carry the momentum from the SHSU victory into the Sun Belt Conference season vs. Georgia State and UL Lafayette.
 
Jordan Kohl leads the team in kills with an even 100 while Shelby Vas Matt sits at 78. Not far behind is Morgan Lewis with 68 kills. Lewis also leads the team in block with 37 on the year, including six in each of the the last two matches and five each in the two matches previous to that.
 
The Bobcats look to have found a setter with Erin Hoppe getting most of the action and leading the team in assists with 227. She also leads the team in service aces with 14 on the year for sixth place in the SBC. And, as always, Sierra Smith leads the team in digs with 128. Kelsey Weynand has 81 while Vas Matt stands at 72 for the year.
 
A Look Ahead
After this weekend, Texas State will take to the road for another match with Georgia State on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. Central Standard Time. From Atlanta, the Bobcats will travel up the east coast to face Appalachian State at 5:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Saturday before returning for a three-match home stand against defending SBC Champion Little Rock, Georgia Southern and UT Arlington.