SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team is set to host UT Arlington in the lone midweek Sun Belt Conference match of the season. The contest is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 2 inside Strahan Arena.
The Bobcats (13-5, 4-0 Sun Belt) and Mavericks (9-5, 3-1) are currently sitting atop the Sun Belt West Division. Both squads swept Little Rock and Arkansas State this past weekend.
The contest will double as the 12th Annual Pink Match for Texas State. TXST will take donations and hold a silent auction as part of the annual event to help promote cancer awareness.
The silent auction will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be open until the 15th point is scored in the third set.All proceeds stay local and support Pink Heals Hays County.
Texas State head coach
Karen Chisum is one win shy of cracking the top 10 in NCAA history for career victories.
AMERICA'S LONGEST-TENURED STAFF
•   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 69 years (39/17/13), a mark which is by far the highest in the nation for any coaching staff. The next closest is Bryant at just 52 years, while St. John's and Northern Iowa are tied for third at 49 cumulative seasons.
A LOOK AT TEXAS STATE
•   Texas State has posted a 13-5 record this season and is off to a 4-0 start in Sun Belt Conference action.
•   The Bobcats are receiving 22 votes in the latest VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll and sit just four spots shy of cracking the top 25.
•   The maroon and gold won five consecutive matches earlier this year and is currently on a conference leading eight-match win streak.
•   Statistically, TXST leads the Sun Belt in most wins overall (13), road wins (5), longest win streak (8), attack percentage (.256), assists per set (13.79) and kills per set (14.44), while ranking second in home wins (6) and third in digs (15.78).
•   Individually,
Emily DeWalt leads the Sun Belt in double-doubles (11) and ranks third in assists (10.59).
Tyeranee Scott is second in hitting percentage (.361),
Madison Daigle is fifth in hitting percentage (.331),
Amy Pflughaupt is fifth in kills (3.30),
Cheyenne Huskey is sixth in kills (3.17), and
Micah Dinwiddie is sixth in digs (3.85).
•   Texas State's strength of schedule is currently ranked No. 35 in the nation. The next closest Sun Belt school is South Alabama at No. 88.
•   In her 39 years leading the Bobcats,
Karen Chisum has 30 winning seasons and 24 campaigns with at least 20 victories.
A LOOK AT UT ARLINGTON
•   The Mavericks (9-5, 3-1 Sun Belt) are right behind Texas State in the league's West division through the first two weeks of conference play.
•   Similarly to the maroon and gold, UT Arlington dropped its first three matches of the year and has lost just two since. The team is 9-2 in its last 11 outings.
•   The Mavericks have defeated ULM, Arkansas State and Little Rock during their current three-match win streak. They also own wins over Air Force, Grand Canyon, Binghamton and Loyola Maryland.
•   UTA has one of the top defensive squads in the Sun Belt, ranking first in digs (16.49) and second in opponent hitting percentage (.178).
•   Madison Hill leads the conference in attack percentage (.384), while Madelyn St. Germain leads the league in digs (4.77). Bre Walp is fifth in blocks (1.28), and Alex Janak is fifth in aces (0.40).
•   The team was projected to finish fourth in the Sun Belt West Division this season.
•   UTA leads the all-time series 41-37, but Texas State has won 25 of the last 32 meetings. The Bobcats have also captured 16 of the last 18 contests, including each of the last six.
BATTLE TESTED
•   Four of Texas State's five setbacks this season have come against teams who are currently ranked in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll (No. 4 Texas, No. 19 Kentucky, No. 20 Marquette, No. 21 Baylor).
•   The fifth loss was to an LSU program that was receiving votes in the national poll.
•   In 149 total non-conference matches, the rest of the Sun Belt Conference combined for just six against ranked opponents all season (Georgia Southern vs. Minnesota / Arkansas State vs. Creighton / Louisiana vs. USC and San Diego / South Alabama vs. Purdue and Alabama).
•   The Bobcats also own victories over James Madison, who was ranked No. 13 in the VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll, and Rice, who was receiving votes in the same poll.
•   Texas State competed against five opponents who hail from a Power 5 Conference (Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Pac-12) during the non-conference portion of the season. That mark is also the highest of any Sun Belt school.
THE BEST IS IN THE WEST
•   Through the first six weeks of the season, the Sun Belt West Division has reigned supreme over the East Division.
•   Five of the six teams from the West have at least nine wins and are at least .500, and three have at least 10 victories.
•   Appalachian State (12-4) is the only team from the East with at least eight victories or a winning record.
•   The combined winning percentage from the West is currently .574 (58-43) overall and .500 (12-12) in league play.
•   The combined winning percentage amongst East teams is currently .427 (38-51) overall and .500 (10-10) in Sun Belt matches.
•   In matches pitting East vs. West teams in 2018, the two divisions are 4-4.
THE LAST TIME OUT
•   Texas State swept Arkansas State 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 26-24) in Sun Belt Conference action Sept. 29 inside Strahan Arena.
•   The Bobcats won their conference-leading eighth match in a row, while the Red Wolves suffered their second loss in as many days.
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Cheyenne Huskey (14 kills, 10 digs) and
Emily DeWalt (43 assists, 10 digs) both finished with double-doubles, while
Janell Fitzgerald (11) and
Amy Pflughaupt (10) boasted double-digit kill totals.
Micah Dinwiddie had a team-best 11 digs, while
Kayla Granado tied her season high with 10 digs of her own.
•   Texas State ended the evening with match highs in kills (52-36), attack percentage (.356-.200), assists (47-35), and digs (47-34). A-State led in aces (7-3), and both sides managed five blocks.
•   The 3-0 setback was the first in league play this season for Arkansas State. The Red Wolves were swept by a conference opponent just twice all last season, with both coming at the hands of the maroon and gold. Prior to the last three shutout losses to the Bobcats, A-State had not been swept by a Sun Belt opponent since Nov. 22, 2014.
•   Texas State has defeated the Red Wolves in eight of their last 10 meetings and now leads the all-time series 9-8. This is the first time TXST has held a lead in the series since winning the first-ever matchup in 1981.
SCOTT EQUALS SCHOOL RECORD
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Tyeranee Scott posted a near-perfect hitting percentage against Louisiana Sept. 23 inside Earl K. Long Gym.
•   The sophomore middle blocker finished with nine kills and no errors on 10 swings to tie the school record with a .900 attack percentage.
•   Her mark equaled the exact same numbers put up by former Bobcat
Jordan Kohl against Prairie View A&M on Sept. 4, 2015.
•   Scott's effort also broke TXST's all-time record for hitting percentage in a conference match.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINES
   Five different members of the maroon and gold have recorded at least one double-double this season.
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Emily DeWalt (11) - The true freshman has registered at least 10 assists and digs in 11 of Texas State's 18 matches this season. That mark leads the Sun Belt Conference.
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Micah Dinwiddie (1) - The junior libero had 18 digs and a career-high 11 assists for the first double-double of her career against Louisiana.
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Cheyenne Huskey (5) - The junior transfer has logged double-digit kills and digs against UTSA, James Madison, Rice, Northern Arizona, and Arkansas State.
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Amy Pflughaupt (1) - The senior ended the match against Rice with season highs in both kills (18) and digs (15).
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Brooke Johnson (1) - The sophomore collected 11 digs and 10 assists against Kentucky.
SEASON TICKET PACKAGES ANNOUNCED
•   The Texas State Athletics Ticket Office has announced season ticket packages for the 2018 Bobcat volleyball campaign.
•   All tickets are general admission, and they are on sale now for $40. Special groups such as Bobcat Club donors, Texas State faculty and staff, recent alumni (2014-18) and T-Association members can receive a special discounted rate of $30 per season ticket.
•   Patrons can renew their seats by logging into their online account at txstatebobcats.com/tickets, calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 512-245-2272, or by visiting the Athletic Ticket Office at Bobcat Stadium during normal business hours (M-F, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.).
•   Single-match tickets are also on sale.
-- TXSTATEBOBCATS.COM --
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