Volleyball | 9/2/2015 5:48:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State opens the team's home slate of matches this weekend as the Bobcats host UTSA, Indiana, Lamar, Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern in the third annual Delta Zeta Classic. Texas State will open against I-35 Rival UTSA at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night and play matches against Prairie View A&M, Lamar and Indiana throughout the weekend.
 
For the Delta Zeta Classic Tournament page, click here.
 
Fans can follow throughout the weekend at www.txstatebobcats.com, on Twitter @TexasStateVBall and on Instagram @TXStateVolleyball.
 
Match Info: Delta Zeta Classic
Site: Strahan Coliseum, San Marcos, Texas
Date: Thursday, Sept. 3 – Saturday, Sept. 5
 
Schedule:
Thursday
6:30 p.m.          Texas State vs. UTSA
Friday
10 a.m.             Indiana vs. Lamar
12 p.m.             Texas State vs. Prairie View A&M
3 p.m.               UTSA vs. Indiana
5 p.m.               Texas Southern vs. Prairie View A&M
7 p.m.              Texas State vs. Lamar
Saturday
11 a.m.             Prairie View A&M vs. Lamar
2 p.m.               UTSA vs. Texas Southern
4 p.m.              Texas State vs. Indiana
6 p.m.               Texas Southern vs. Lamar
 
The Series
Texas State has a long and storied history with two teams the Bobcats will face this weekend and have barely seen the other two teams in their histories. Texas State holds an overwhelming advantage over I-35 Rival UTSA at 54-12 all-time, including a 3-1 victory in last season's meeting.
 
The Lamar Cardinals are another squad the Bobcats know well, holding a 42-34 edge on the Cardinals. The Bobcats also played Lamar last season and won in five sets, 3-2.
 
Prairie View A&M and Indiana have not often been opponents of Texas State. The Bobcats have only faced the Panthers of Prairie View A&M seven times, including a 3-1 victory last season, and has seen the Hoosiers even less. Indiana and Texas State has only squared off one, a 3-0 sweep in favor of Indiana back in 1990.
 
On the Roadrunners
The Roadrunners of UTSA have jumped out to a fast start to 2015, winning the team's first four matches. On the team's opening weekend, the Roadrunners swept Montana State, Prairie View A&M and Tulane in Huntsville while surviving Sam Houston State in a five-set victory.
 
Dajana Boskovic leads the team in kills with 58, good enough for an impressive 5.27 kills per set with just 14 errors for a .328 hitting percentage. Kylie Schott also stands out with a .532 hitting percentage on 47 attempts. Meanwhile, Jessica Waldrip orchestrates the offense from the setter's position with 144 assists in four matches so far. She is averaging 11.08 assists per set. She is also tied for the team lead in aces with six while Shelby Williams also has six.
 
Defensively, Annie Kunes has paced UTSA with 49 digs. Just behind her is Williams with 46. No other Roadrunner has more than 25 digs. At the net, Schott has put down 16 blocks while Waldrip has 10. Nobody else on the squad has more than seven, but UTSA is a dangerous blocking team with 30 blocks on the year already.
 
On the Panthers
While the Roadrunners have been cruising, the same cannot be said for Prairie View A&M. The team has not won a set in five matches. Panthers Head Coach TaCho Tyler is in her first season at the helm of the program, but has been a fixture for PVAMU for some time now. After completing her playing career at Prairie View A&M in 2007, Tyler assumed the role of assistant coach for seven seasons before taking over this year.
 
Marissa Campbell leads the team in kills with 27 in five matches played, averaging 2.70 kills per set with a .254 hitting percentage. Jasmine Lewis is second with 22 kills and no other Panther has more than 14. Ana Kiso has given out 82 assists for the team while adding a team-high 24 digs and seven kills. Sydney Walker also has 24 digs. The team is averaging 9.47 digs per set. The Panthers have 16 blocks on the year, led by Randi Hunter with six block assists.
 
On the Cardinals
Lamar may not be the hottest team coming to San Marcos this weekend, but the Cardinals are certainly in a good position. Lamar started the season with three wins at the team's home tournament, beating Texas Southern, UAB and Marist. The Cardinals just dropped one set on the weekend and that came to Texas Southern. In the midweek, however, Lamar traveled to Houston for a match against Rice and fell, 3-1.
 
The Cardinals have a two-pronged offensive attack with Cortney Moore and Chelsea Grant filling those roles. Moore has 39 kills while Grant has 38 in the young season. Moore has been dangerously efficient, hitting .392, while Grant hasn't been bad at .338. Tomar Thomas and Nicole Parish are also threats with more than 20 kills each.
 
Ashley Ellis and Haley Morton have run the offense, combining for 150 assists. Morton has 89. Lauren Stahlman does the heavy lifting on defense with 66 digs for 4.71 digs per set. No other Cardinal has more than 27. At the net, Moore and Grant are the leaders as well with 14 and 20 blocks respectively. The team has 36 blocks, 11 more than Lamar's opponents.
 
On the Hoosiers
Indiana split the first weekend of action, but worked for every bit of it. The Hoosiers went five sets in all three matches, beating Bowling Green and Middle Tennessee State but dropping to Cleveland State and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Bash.
 
Amelia Anderson struck 67 kills in those three matches while Allison Hammond added 50. Three others have tallied 20 or more kills for the squad. Meanwhile, Makayla Lundin runs the offense with 116 assists and leads the team in aces with four.
 
Defensively, Courtny Harnish has 60 digs while Kyndall Merrit has 33. No other Hoosier has more than 23. Indiana has been outblocked by opponents, 29.5-18, but it is Elizabeth Asdell who leads the team in blocks with 10. She has the only solo block on the squad.
 
On the Bobcats
It was a tough opening weekend for Texas State, going up against No. 17 Arizona, a Big 12 opponent in TCU and SMU, which was ranked second in the American Athletic Conference. The Bobcats weren't able to pick up a set over the weekend, but Texas State is also still trying to find a rotation that makes sense for the team.
 
In just the first three matches, Texas State has already played 14 student-athletes this season in an effort to find what works. Setters Erin Hoppe and Emily Shelton have split time to combine for 66 assists while Hoppe even spent some time as a hitter. The Bobcats have alternated between 5-1 and 6-2 offenses.
 
At the top, though, has been newcomer Jaliyah Bolden and junior stalwart Kelsey Weynand. Bolden finished the weekend with 19 kills while Weynand added 17. Bolden also led in blocks with nine to help garner All-Tournament honors for the redshirt sophomore.
 
Alex Silver has spent most of the time at libero for the Bobcats, tallying 23 digs. However, Sierra Smith played very well at libero in the team's final match of the weekend against SMU.
 
A Look Ahead
After this weekend, it won't get any easier for the Bobcats. Texas State will welcome No. 11 Oregon to Strahan Coliseum before hitting the road to face South Dakota State, Northern Illinoi and Wichita State at the Shocker Volleyball Classic in Wichita, Kansas.