Volleyball | 10/19/2016 9:00:00 AM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team heads to Georgia for a pair of matches against Sun Belt Conference East Division opponents this weekend. First up for the Bobcats will be a match against Georgia State at 5 p.m. (CST) Oct. 21 in Atlanta. Texas State will then meet Georgia Southern at 5:30 p.m. (CST) Oct. 22 in Statesboro, Georgia.
 
Match 1 Info: Texas State (13-9, 6-1 SBC) at Georgia State (8-11, 4-4 SBC)
Site: GSU Sports Arena – Atlanta, Georgia
Date: Friday, October 21 – 5 pm (CST)
The Series: Texas State leads 7-2
Last Meeting: TXST def. GSU 3-0 (9/24/15)

Match 2 Info: Texas State (13-9, 6-1 SBC) at Georgia Southern (11-10, 4-2 SBC)
Site: Hanner Fieldhouse – Statesboro, Georgia
Date: Saturday, October 22 – 5:30 pm (CST)
The Series: Texas State leads 3-0
Last Meeting: TXST def. GS 3-0 (10/3/15)

THE LAST TIME OUT
Texas State defeated UT Arlington 3-1 (21-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-20) Oct. 13 inside College Park Center. The Bobcats won their fourth match in a row. Four members of the team registered double-digit kills, led by 13 from senior Kelsey Weynand. Junior Jaliyah Bolden and freshman Megan Porter blasted 12 each, and senior Lauren Kirch added 11 kills and seven blocks. Junior Erin Hoppe had 49 assists, and freshman Micah Dinwiddie led the defense with a career-high 31 digs. Dinwiddie's dig total was the most recorded in four sets by a Texas State volleyball player since Kacey Wimpy tallied 32 against Sam Houston State on Nov. 9, 2007. Texas State led the way in kills (55-41), attack percentage (.229-.099), blocks (12-8) and service aces (8-1).

WHERE THEY STAND
With the Sun Belt Conference ballooning to 12 teams, the league has moved to a two-division format for the 2016 season. The Bobcats are members of the West Division, along with Arkansas State, UT Arlington, Little Rock, UL Lafayette and UL Monroe. The league will crown two division champions at the end of the regular season, and those two sides will claim the top two seeds in the Sun Belt Conference Championship, which will be held Nov. 18-20 at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.

Coastal Carolina (6-1) leads the way in the East Division, while A-State (7-1) is atop the West Division with four weeks remaining in the regular season schedule. TXST (6-1) sits a half game behind the Red Wolves in the West and are two games ahead of UT Arlington (4-3). The top four finishers from both divisions will qualify for the postseason tournament.

DINWIDDIE MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST 2 WEEKLY ACCOLADES
Micah Dinwiddie was honored as both the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week on Oct. 17. The true freshman from Lewisville, Texas, earned the first two weekly accolades of her young career after a dominant performance in Texas State's 3-1 win at UT Arlington Oct. 13. She registered a career-high 31 digs against the Mavericks, which was the highest total of digs in a four-set match by a Bobcat since Kacey Wimpy tallied 32 against Sam Houston State on Nov. 9, 2007. The 31 digs were also the highest four-set total registered by a Sun Belt Conference player this season. Dinwiddie averaged 7.75 digs per set, while also adding three assists and one service ace. This was the first time since the conference went to a four-award weekly system that a freshman was honored as the SBC defensive player of the week.