Volleyball | 8/29/2017 12:00:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team will trek to Ohio for the first time in school history to compete in the Xavier Tournament Sept. 1-2 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bobcats will take on Western Michigan, Cincinnati and host Xavier during the two-day event.

The Bobcats sport a 1-1 record after defeating Sam Houston State and falling to VCU in the season-opening Texas A&M Invitational. TXST was also scheduled to face the Aggies, but the match was canceled due to the threat of Hurricane Harvey.

Texas State has never competed at the Xavier Tournament. Assistant Coach Sean Huiet will return to his hometown for the event. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native graduated from Bowling Green. The Bobcats are in the midst of a six-match swing away from home to begin the season.

MATCH 1: TEXAS STATE vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN
Site: Cintas Center – Cincinnati, Ohio
Date/Time: September 1 / 3 p.m.
Live Stats: HERE
Radio: None
TV/Online Stream: None
All-Time Series Record: First Meeting

MATCH 2: TEXAS STATE vs. CINCINNATI
Site: Cintas Center – Cincinnati, Ohio
Date/Time: September 2 / 9 a.m.
Live Stats: HERE
Radio: None
TV/Online Stream: None
All-Time Series Record: First Meeting

MATCH 3: TEXAS STATE at XAVIER
Site: Cintas Center – Cincinnati, Ohio
Date/Time: September 2 / 6 p.m.
Live Stats: HERE
Radio: None
TV/Online Stream: Xavier All-Access
All-Time Series Record: First Meeting

LONGEST-TENURED STAFF IN AMERICA
•    The Texas State full-time coaching staff consists of head coach Karen Chisum, associate head coach Tracy Smith and assistant coach Sean Huiet.
•    The trio has been at Texas State for a combined 66 years (38/16/12), a mark which is by far the highest in the nation for any coaching staff. The next closest is Texas A&M at just 52 years, while Penn State ranks third at 47 years.
•    For comparison's sake, the respective coaching staffs of this weekend's opponents of Western Michigan (33), Cincinnati (12) and Xavier (11) have only been at their schools for a combined 56 total years.

A LOOK AT TEXAS STATE
•    The Bobcats began 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 WESTERN MICHIGAN
•    The Broncos enter the Xavier Tournament with a 1-2 record.
•    WMU took a game off Tennessee and went five sets with Wofford. Those results were sandwiched around a 3-1 victory against George Washington. All three matches were at the DISH Tennessee Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee.
•    Western Michigan was projected to finish third in the Mid-American Conference this season. The Broncos went 12-19 in 2016 with a 6-10 mark in the MAC.
•    Senior middle blocker Sydney LeMay was named to the Preseason West All-MAC Team.
•    This will be the first meeting between Texas State and Western Michigan.

A LOOK AT CINCINNATI
•    Cincinnati owns a 0-3 record this season after suffering setbacks to No. 23 Utah, Arkansas State and No. 14 Kentucky at the Bluegrass Battle in Lexington, Kentucky.
•    The Bearcats are coming off a highly-successful 2016 season that saw the team finish second in the American Athletic Conference and compete at the NCAA Championship
•    UC was picked second in the AAC Preseason Poll behind newcomer Wichita State.
•    The trio of Carly Nolan, Jordan Thompson and Jade Tingelhoff were all named to the preseason all-conference team. Thompson was selected as the AAC Preseason Player of the Year.
•    This will be the first meeting between Cincinnati and TXST.

A LOOK AT XAVIER
•    Xavier owns a perfect 3-0 ledger following the first tournament of the season.
•    The Musketeers own wins over Duquesne, Illinois-Chicago and Bowling Green, all coming at the Hampton Inn Invitational in Bowling Green, Ohio.
•    Kristen Massa was honored as the tournament MVP. Alexis Newsome and Lauren Frilling were also named to the all-tournament team.
•    Xavier placed third in the Big East Conference last year after finishing 20-13 overall and 13-5 in league play. The team advanced to the finals of the conference tournament before falling to Creighton.
•    The Musketeers were projected to finish fourth in the Big East Preseason Poll.
•    Massa earned a spot on the preseason all-conference team.
•    This will be the first meeting between the Bobcats and Xavier.

PORTER, KINDRED POST CAREER-HIGHS
•    In the first match of the season, the Bobcats took down Sam Houston State by a 3-0 margin.
•    Megan Porter had a match-high 15 kills. She had just two errors on 37 swings to finish with a career-best .351 hitting percentage.
•    Marissa Kindred totaled a career-high eight kills, nearly tripling her previous best in the process.

TXST FINISHES TAMU INVITE 1-1
•    Texas State closed out the Texas A&M Invitational with a 3-0 (25-23, 32-30, 25-12) loss to VCU Aug. 25 inside Reed Arena.
 •    Jaliyah Bolden and Megan Porter led TXST with nine kills each. Brooke Johnson tallied 14 assists, while Erin Hoppe added 11.
 •    VCU led in kills (42-37), attack percentage (.286-.051), assists (36-32), and blocks (15-4). The Bobcats held the advantage in digs (39-36).
 
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.

-TxStateBobcats.com-