Volleyball | 8/24/2017 8:44:00 AM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team is set to begin the 2017 campaign at the Texas A&M Invitational Aug. 25-26 in College Station, Texas. The Bobcats will meet Sam Houston State, VCU and host Texas A&M over the two-day period.

This will be the fourth-straight year the Bobcats will start a new season at a tournament away from home. The last time TXST competed at the TAMU Invite was in 2012, when the maroon and gold was a member of the Southland Conference. The stretch of matches begins a set of seven in a row that will see the maroon and gold play away from the friendly confines of Strahan Coliseum.

MATCH 1: TEXAS STATE vs. SAM HOUSTON STATE
Site: Reed Arena – College Station, Texas
Date/Time: August 25 / 11 a.m.
Live Stats: HERE
Radio: None
TV: None
All-Time Series Record: TXST leads 56-48-1

MATCH 2: TEXAS STATE vs. VCU
Site: Reed Arena – College Station, Texas
Date/Time: August 25 / 4 p.m.
Live Stats: HERE
Radio: None
TV: None
All-Time Series Record: First Meeting

MATCH 3: TEXAS STATE at TEXAS A&M
Site: Reed Arena – College Station, Texas
Date/Time: August 26 / 1 p.m.
Live Stats: HERE
Radio: None
TV: SEC Network+
All-Time Series Record: TAMU leads 25-6

A LOOK AT TEXAS STATE
•    The Bobcats will begin the 2017 season with nine returning players and seven newcomers.
•    TXST posted a 21-12 record overall a year ago and a 13-3 mark in the Sun Belt Conference.
•    Texas State finished second in the SBC West Division last year and advanced to the semifinals of the 2016 SBC Championship.

A LOOK AT SAM HOUSTON STATE
•    SHSU finished last season 18-14 overall and 10-6 in the Southland Conference. The Bearkats placed third the conference and advanced to the finals of the 2016 Southland Championship.
•    Sam Houston State returns eight letterwinners and four starters, including preseason All-Southland honorees Jordyn Vaughn, Brooke White and Taylor Cunningham.
•    TXST leads the all-time series 56-48-1 over SHSU. The Bobcats have captured each of the last six contests and have won 21 of the last 24 matchups dating back to 2002.

A LOOK AT VCU
•    VCU posted a 19-14 mark in 2016 and went 8-6 in the Atlantic 10 Conference to tie for fourth.
•    The Rams advanced to the semifinals of the league tournament before falling to eventual champion Dayton in five sets.
•    This will be the first meeting between VCU and TXST.

A LOOK AT TEXAS A&M
•    Texas A&M boasted a 21-9 overall record last year and finished in a tie for third in the SEC with a 15-3 league mark.
•    The Aggies won 15 of their last 17 regular-season matches and earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Championship.
•    TAMU was projected to finish fourth in the SEC this season and had one player - Kaitlyn Blake - named to the preseason all-conference team.
•    The Aggies lead the all-time series 25-6 and have won each of the last 15 meetings by a combined score of 45-6. The last time Texas State defeated Texas A&M was Sept. 28, 1991.

CREEDS & CRESTS SET FOR SEPT. 7-9
•    The maroon and gold will open the home portion of the 2017 schedule hosting the annual Creeds & Crests Classic Sept. 7-9.
•    The Bobcats will host UTSA (Sept. 7), SMU (Sept. 8), UMass Lowell (Sept. 9) and Houston Baptist (Sept. 9).
•    The event will mark the fifth-straight year Texas State will host a non-conference tournament, and the second under the Creeds & Crests moniker.

TXST SELECTED 2ND IN SBC POLL
•    Texas State earned 57 points and one first-place vote to be selected to finish in second place in the west division of the 2017 SBC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•    Defending west champs Arkansas State were projected to again win the division.
•    UTA was slotted third, while Little Rock, Louisiana and ULM rounded out the division.
•    Coastal Carolina was picked to win the east division. Before the Chanticleers were South Alabama, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Appalachian State and Troy.

HOPPE PRESEASON SETTER OTY
•    Senior Erin Hoppe, coming off a 2016 campaign that saw her land on the All-SBC Second Team, was named the 2017 SBC Preseason Setter of the Year.
•    She became the second Bobcats to be named Sun Belt Preseason Setter of the Year, joining Caylin Mahoney (2014).
•    Hoppe was also named to the preseason All-SBC Team.

BOLDEN NAMED PRESEASON ALL-SBC
•    Joining Hoppe on the preseason All-SBC Team was senior middle blocker Jaliyah Bolden.
•    Bolden had an award-winning performance to close out last season, as she landed on the 2016 SBC All-Tournament Team.
•    The two preseason selections are the most garnered by Texas State since becoming league members in 2013.

-TxStateBobcats.com-