Volleyball | 9/21/2016 2:06:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team heads to Alabama to open Sun Belt Conference action this weekend. The Bobcats will open league play with Troy and South Alabama. The contest between TXST and Troy will be broadcast on ESPN3.
 
Match 1 Info: Texas State (7-8, 0-0 SBC) at Troy (6-9, 0-0 SBC)
Site: Trojan Arena – Troy, Ala.
Date: Friday, September 23 – 6 p.m.
TV: ESPN3
 
Match 2 Info: Texas State (7-8, 0-0 SBC) at South Alabama (9-4, 0-0 SBC)
Site: Jaguar Gym – Mobile, Ala.
Date: Sunday, September 25 – 12:30 p.m.
 
The Series
Vs. Troy: 7-0
Last Meeting: W, 3-0 (10/31/15)
 
Texas State owns a dominant 7-0 record over the Trojans in their brief history. The Bobcats defeated Troy 3-1 in the first matchup in 1997, and the two programs would not meet again until TXST joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2013. Since then, Texas State has won all six contests by a combined score of 18-5. The closest Troy came to knocking off TXST was on Sept. 27, 2014, when the Bobcats defeated the Trojans 3-2 in Alabama.
 
The last time the two teams met was Halloween last season, when Texas State earned a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) win in San Marcos. The Bobcats outhit the Trojans .255 to .187. Madison Daigle led TXST with 12 kills, while Emily Shelton (19) and Erin Hoppe (15) chipped in double-digit assists. Sierra Smith tallied 20 digs in the match and Kelsey Weynand added 10.
 
Vs. South Alabama: 5-2
Last Meeting: W, 3-1 (11/20/15)
 
Texas State and South Alabama have met seven times since the Bobcats became members of the Sun Belt Conference in 2013. Three of those meetings came last year, with TXST winning the final two. The Jaguars hold a slim 2-1 edge over the Bobcats in Mobile.
 
The last time the two programs met was in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Championship, with Texas State coming from behind to earn a 3-1 (18-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-19) victory. The Bobcats posted a .316 hitting percentage, while holding the Jaguars to .212. Weynand posted a double-double with 18 digs and 17 kills. Hoppe added a whopping 54 assists, while Lauren Kirch (16) and Jordan Kohl (14) posted double-digit kills. Smith added 14 digs for the winning effort.
 
On the Trojans
Troy has hit a bit of a wall after starting the season 6-4. The Trojans enter conference play on a five-match losing streak, including dropping all four contests at the Maroon Classic in Starkville, Mississippi. Troy owns victories over USC Upstate, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern, Alabama State, Chicago State and Savannah State.
 
Sara Landis paces the offense with a team-high 145 kills. Four other Trojans have at least 85 kills. Reina Terry navigates the offense with 435 assists. She also owns 104 digs. Alisha Hinrichs leads Troy with 196 digs, and Leah Causey has a team-high 53 blocks.
 
On the Jaguars
South Alabama has soared to a 9-4 start to the campaign, which includes victories over McNeese State and Bethune-Cookman this past weekend at the Bulldog Invitational in Athens, Georgia.
 
Three Jaguars have at least 100 kills, led by 143 from Iva Durdanovic. Ashlyn Roberts (260) and Kellyn Reeves (257) have near assist numbers, and Abby Baker leads the team with 230 digs.
 
Sarah Richardson (34), Nikki Gittens (33), Kristina Alabastro (26) and Kelley Hartman (26) all have at least 25 blocks.
 
On the Bobcats
Texas State enters league action having dropped three of its last four matchups. The lone win at last week's Roadrunner Roundup was a 3-0 romp of Texas Tech.
 
Jordan Kohl paces the attack with 145 kills, while Megan Porter (109) and Lauren Kirch (100) also have at least 100. Erin Hoppe has 424 assists, while Emily Shelton has helped on 121 points of her own.
 
Eight members of the team own at least 50 digs, with Alex Silver leading the way with 98. Jaliyah Bolden is the team leader with 47 total blocks.
 
A Look Ahead
After opening Sun Belt play away from home, the Bobcats will return to Strahan Coliseum for four-straight matches. The first will be the Pink Out Match, which will be at 6 p.m. Sept. 30 against new league foe Coastal Carolina. TXST will then welcome Appalachian State (Oct. 2), Arkansas State (Oct. 7) and Arkansas-Little Rock (Oct. 8).