Volleyball | 9/7/2015 8:54:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – After an impressive weekend at the Delta Zeta Classic, the Bobcats are looking to upset No. 12 Oregon at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night at Strahan Coliseum.
 
Match Info: Texas State (3-4) vs. No. 12 Oregon (5-3)
Site: Strahan Coliseum, San Marcos, Texas
Date: Tuesday, September 8 – 6:30 p.m.
 
The Series
The only time the Bobcats have faced the Ducks was way back in 1970 on a neutral court. Texas State took the match by a score of 2-1 (15-10, 5-15, 15-9) for a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series.

One interesting aspect of this meeting between the teams is that Texas State outside hitter Shelby Vas Matt is from Happy Valley, Ore. She went to Clackamas High School and was a teammate of Oregon sophomore outside hitter Taylor Agost. Agost is third on Oregon in kills with 79 at 2.63 kills per set with 22 digs, nine blocks and 84.5 points. Vas Matt, meanwhile, has 39 kills for a 2.29 kill per set average with five service aces, 46 digs and six blocks for 47.5 points so far this season.
 
On the Ducks
Oregon comes to Strahan Coliseum ranked as the 12^th best team in all the land, dropping just one spot from last week when the Ducks were ranked 11^th nationally. However, Oregon has been struggling in Texas this week.
 
After starting off 5-0 in the first week of volleyball action, Oregon made the trip down south to play at the Texas Longhorns' tournament in Austin and face UTSA Monday night. At the UT tournament, Oregon fell to No. 2 Florida in straight sets. After that, Oregon pushed No. 5 Nebraska to five sets, winning the first two of the match, but dropped three straight sets to the Cornhuskers for Oregon's second loss of the season.
 
With the tournament in Austin over, Oregon traveled down to San Antonio to face UTSA, a team the Bobcats beat in five last Thursday night. The Roadrunners were able to take care of the Ducks in four sets. After Oregon won the first set, UTSA survived the second set, 25-23, and won the third and fourth sets, 25-19, 25-23, to secure the match.
 
Now the Bobcats will face Oregon on a three-match skid. The Ducks, however, are still dangerous. In just eight matches to date, Oregon boasts three players with 79 kills or more, led by Martenne Bettendorf with 82 kills for a 3.57 kill per set average. Lindsey Vander Weide has 81 kills while Taylor Agost stands at 79
 
Maggie Scott runs the offense with 290 assists (10.36 assists per set) and leads the team in service aces with 11. Meanwhile, Amanda Benson has 140 digs (4.67 per set) to lead the squad. No other Duck has more than 60 digs. At the net, Kacey Nady leads the team in blocks with 30, but Lauren Page has 24 while Vander Weide stands at 21 for the season.
 
On the Bobcats
While Oregon has struggled in the second week of the season, the Bobcats look to have found their stride. They started the week with an impressive five-set victory over I-35 Rival UTSA on Thursday night then followed it with an efficient two-win day on Friday with victories over Prairie View A&M and Lamar. Unfortunately, the Bobcats fell in five to Big Ten opponent Indiana.
 
Against PVAMU, Texas State set a new school record for best team hitting percentage, a record that stood since 1988. A big reason why was the work of sophomore Jordan Kohl, who finished the match hitting .900 with nine kills on 10 attempts and no errors to set an individual record for hitting percentage.
 
Kohl leads the team in kills with 55 while Kelsey Weynand has 49 and Jaliyah Bolden has 47 on the year. It's Bolden, however, that leads the team in points as she has added 27 blocks, leading the Bobcats by 10. Morgan Lewis is second on the team with 17 block assists.
 
Sierra Smith leads the team in digs with 72, but Weynand isn't far behind with 65 while Shelby Vas Matt has contributed 46. At the setter position, the Bobcats have been splitting duty between Emily Shelton (103 assists) and Erin Hoppe (98 assists). They both hover around 5.15 assists per set right now.
 
The Bobcats are looking to bounce back from a loss to Indiana and a big win over No. 12 Oregon would be the best way to pull it off. It will be the second ranked team Texas State has faced this season, falling to No. 17 Arizona on August 29, 3-0.
 
A Look Ahead
After Oregon, the Bobcats will travel to Wichita, Kansas to face South Dakota State, Northern Illinois and Wichita State. Next will be a road match against Sam Houston State on Tuesday, Sept. 15, before beginning Sun Belt Conference play against Georgia State and UL Lafayette at Strahan Coliseum.