Volleyball | 9/4/2017 5:59:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team will meet Sam Houston State at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 5 in Huntsville, Texas. This will be the second meeting between the two programs, with the Bobcats knocking off the Bearkats on Aug. 25 in the season opener for both teams.

TXST sports a 3-2 record after finishing the Xavier Tournament 2-1. Tuesday's match will be the final in a string of six contests away from home to start the season.

MATCH INFO: TEXAS STATE vs. SAM HOUSTON STATE
Site: Johnson Coliseum – Huntsville, Texas
Date/Time: September 5 / 6:30 p.m.
Radio: None
TV: None
All-Time Series Record: TXST leads 57-48-1

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 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 returned eight letterwinners and four starters, including preseason All-Southland honorees Jordyn Vaughn, Brooke White and Taylor Cunningham.
•    SHSU had a tough start to the season, dropping its first five matches to TXST, Texas A&M, VCU, Chattanooga and Murray State. However, the Bearkats have rebounded nicely from their early-season struggles by earning a clean sweep over ULM in their most-recent action Sept. 2.
•    TXST leads the all-time series 57-48-1 over SHSU. The Bobcats have captured each of the last seven contests and have won 22 of the last 25 matchups dating back to 2002.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET
•    Texas State kicked off 2017 with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-15) victory over Sam Houston State Aug. 25 in the first match of the Texas A&M Invitational inside Reed Arena.
 •    The Bobcats earned their seventh-straight victory over the Bearkats and picked up their first season-opening triumph since the 2014 campaign.
 •    Megan Porter led the way with a match-high 15 kills. She had just two errors on 37 swings and finished with a career-best .351 hitting percentage. Brooke Johnson dished out 18 assists, while Erin Hoppe added 15. Johnson, Porter and Micah Dinwiddie all had eight digs. Marissa Kindred totaled a career-high eight kills, nearly tripling her previous best in the process.
•    Texas State led in kills (40-35), attack percentage (.270-.120), assists (38-29), service aces (6-1), digs (35-31), and blocks (7-4).

THE LAST TIME OUT
•    TXST defeated Xavier 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-21) to tie for first place at the Xavier Tournament Saturday night inside Cintas Center.
•    The Bobcats earned their second win of the day after knocking off Cincinnati 3-2 earlier in the morning. They also finished the weekend with a 2-1 record, while the Musketeers had just a 1-2 mark. TXST tied with Western Michigan for first place in the four-team event, with the Broncos winning the title due to tiebreakers.
 •    Four different Bobcats finished the sweep with double-digit kills. Effie Zielinski had 13 kills and just two errors on 22 swings (.500), while Megan Porter added 12 kills and no errors on 29 attacks (.414). Both members of the squad were named to the All-Tournament Team.
 •    Jaliyah Bolden contributed 11 kills of her own, and Amy Pflughaupt added 10. Brooke Johnson (28 assists) and Erin Hoppe (19) piloted the offense, while Micah Dinwiddie (14 digs) was the galvanizing force on the backline.
•    TXST held advantages in every statistical category, including kills (55-37), attack percentage (.398-.217), assists (52-36), aces (3-1), digs (45-40), and blocks (4-2).
•    No Musketeer was able to ascend to double-digit kills or digs. Nadia Dieudonne (18) and Mackenzi Humm (12) tallied double-digit assists.

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.