MATCH 24: Texas State at South Alabama
Time / Date	6:30 p.m. / Friday, October 19
Location	Mobile, Ala.
Arena	Jaguar Gym
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Video	JagNation TV
Audio	None
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	TXST leads 7-3

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team heads to Alabama for its final two matches of the regular season against the Sun Belt East Division.

The Bobcats (18-5, 9-0) will meet South Alabama (10-11, 4-4) at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 19 in Mobile, Ala., before matching up with Troy (10-11, 4-4) at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20 in Troy, Ala.

The Bobcats enter the weekend with an NCAA RPI of No. 28. Texas State is currently receiving votes in the VolleyMob.com National Top-25 Power Rankings. The maroon and gold is receiving 49 votes and slotted just one spot out of the top 25 in the most-recent iteration of the VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll.

 

MATCH 25: Texas State at Troy
Time / Date	6:30 p.m. / Saturday, October 20
Location	Troy, Ala.
Arena	Trojan Arena
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Video ($)	ESPN+
Audio	None
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	TXST leads 9-0

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 an 18-5 record this season and is off to a 9-0 start in Sun Belt Conference action.
•    TXST is currently riding a 13-match win streak, which is tied for the longest for the maroon and gold since 2009. The last time the Bobcats had a 14-match win streak was 2004.
•    Texas State also had a 10-match win streak last year. This marks the first time in school history that the maroon and gold had double-digit win streaks in back-to-back campaigns.
•    Statistically, TXST leads the Sun Belt in most wins overall (18), home wins (9), road wins (7), longest win streak (13), attack percentage (.264), assists per set (13.80) and kills per set (14.39), while ranking second in digs (15.79).
•    Individually, Emily DeWalt leads the Sun Belt in double-doubles (15) and ranks third in assists (10.59). Tyeranee Scott is fourth in hitting percentage (.366), Madison Daigle is sixth in hitting percentage (.346) and blocks (1.08), Cheyenne Huskey is fifth in kills (3.16), Amy Pflughaupt is sixth in kills (3.14), and Micah Dinwiddie is sixth in digs (3.88).
•    Texas State's strength of schedule is currently ranked No. 44 in the nation. The next closest Sun Belt school is Coastal Carolina at No. 73, while Arkansas State is third at No. 137.
•    The Bobcats have already clinched a winning record this season, which is the 31st for coach Karen Chisum in her 39 years leading the maroon and gold. TXST is also just two wins shy of locking up her 25th 20-win campaign.

A LOOK AT SOUTH ALABAMA
•    The Jaguars (10-11, 4-4 Sun Belt) roll into the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the Sun Belt, having won four of their last five matches.
•    They own recent wins over Georgia State (twice), Georgia Southern and ULM.
•    USA enters the weekend third in the Sun Belt in hitting percentage (.230) and aces (1.36), while ranking sixth in kills (12.47).
•    Kelley Hartman is third in aces (0.37) and seventh in hitting percentage (.305), while Morgan Stalcup is fifth in hitting percentage (.347).
•    The team was projected to finish second in the Sun Belt East Division this season.
•    Texas State leads the all-time series 7-3, but the Jaguars swept the Bobcats in San Marcos last season.

A LOOK AT TROY
•    The Trojans (10-11, 4-4 Sun Belt) are the second-hottest team in the league, having won each of their last four matches.
•    They will host UTA the day before welcoming the maroon and gold.
•    Troy has recent road wins over Louisiana, ULM, Georgia Southern and Georgia State.
•    The Trojans lead the Sun Belt in aces this season (1.56) and rank fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.188), assists (12.13) and kills (12.75).
•    Amara Anderson is the league's top setter at 10.82 assists/set. She has also won the conference setter of the week laurel each of the past two weeks. Cheyenne Hayes ranks third in kills (3.75) and fifth in aces (0.36).
•    The Trojans were projected to finish fourth in the Sun Belt East Division.
•    Texas State leads the series 9-0, and all but one match has been since the Bobcats joined the Sun Belt in 2013.

TXST CROWDS BLOW AWAY SUN BELT
•    Texas State's attendance numbers have completely dwarfed the rest of the Sun Belt Conference this season.
•    The Bobcats have played in front of 1,000 fans on 10 occasions (seven at home, three on the road). The rest of the league has combined - in matches not in San Marcos - for just five. All five of those matches (three for Coastal Carolina, one each for Georgia Southern and Louisiana) were on the road.
•    TXST's average attendance is currently 1,241, and the total attendance is 12,410. The average would be a new school record, breaking 2009's mark of 1,129/match. The total is already fourth-most in school history with two home matches remaining in the regular season.
•    None of Georgia State, Little Rock, South Alabama, Troy, or ULM have even seen 1,000 fans this season.
•    Appalachian State, Arkansas State and UT Arlington have each only seen 1,000 fans once, and all of those came at Texas State. The largest crowd Little Rock has played in front of (943) also came in San Marcos.
•    The Bobcats have led the conference in attendance each of the last five years.

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. 8 Texas, No. 15 Kentucky, No. 18 Marquette, No. 24 Baylor).
•    The fifth loss was to an LSU program that was receiving votes in the national poll.
•    In 135 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 own a win over Arizona State, who was ranked No. 25 in the nation last week. They have also defeated James Madison, who was ranked No. 13 in the VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll, and Rice, who is currently ranked No. 21 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.

WHERE THEY STAND
•    TXST is currently 9-0 in league play and has a three-match lead in the loss column over UTA and Little Rock in the Sun Belt West Division.
•    The Magic Number for the Bobcats to win the division is currently four, while the Magic Number to win at least a share of the conference regular season championship is five.
•    If the season were to end today, Texas State and Coastal Carolina would win their respective divisions and earn double byes into the semifinals of the postseason tournament.
•    UTA and Little Rock would be the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds, respectively, and would begin play in the quarterfinals.
•    The field is currently slated to be rounded out by Appalachian State (No. 5), Arkansas State (No. 6), Troy (No. 7) and South Alabama (No. 8).
•    Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, and ULM are all currently on the outside looking in for a playoff berth.

THE LAST TIME OUT
•    Texas State took down Coastal Carolina 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21) in a Sun Belt Conference match Oct. 13 inside Strahan Arena.
•    The Chanticleers entered the weekend 40-2 against Sun Belt opponents since joining the league in 2016. But, after also falling to UT Arlington, the two-time defending champions suffered back-to-back conference losses for the first time since Sept. 27-28, 2013 as members of the Big South.
•    Emily DeWalt had a monster stat line with match highs in both assists (42) and digs (19) to go along with four kills and four blocks. She leads the Sun Belt with 15 double-doubles this season.
•    Micah Dinwiddie (18) and Brooke Johnson (10) combined for 28 digs, while Amy Pflughaupt (12), Cheyenne Huskey (11) and Madison Daigle (10) all reached double digits in the kill department.
•    The maroon and gold led in kills (58-49), attack percentage (.231-.145), digs (76-55), and blocks (15-11). Both sides had four aces.
•    CCU still leads the brief all-time series 3-2, but the maroon and gold has captured the last two regular-season meetings.

DeWALT NAMED AVCA NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
•    Emily DeWalt was honored as the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week on Oct. 2.
 •    The freshman setter became the first player in Texas State volleyball history to win the award. She's also the fourth player in Sun Belt Conference history to be bestowed the honor, joining Western Kentucky's Amanda Schiff (Nov. 10, 2003), Middle Tennessee State's Ashley Adams (Sept. 6, 2005) and WKU's Jordyn Skinner (Sept. 13, 2011).
•    DeWalt helped Texas State collect home wins over Little Rock and Arkansas State.
•    She had double-doubles in both matches, while averaging 14.00 assists per set (98) and 3.43 digs per set (24). She also added six kills, four aces and a block. She had 55 assists and 14 digs against LR and tallied 43 assists and 10 digs against A-State. Both assist totals were the most this season by a Sun Belt player in a three- and four-set match, respectively.
•    DeWalt was both the first setter and the first freshman to win the national laurel this season.
•    She is the only player from the Sun Belt to win a national award this season.

FRESHMAN COLLECTS NATIONAL RECOGNITION 4 ADDITIONAL TIMES
•    On top of being honored as the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week, true freshman Emily DeWalt has been lauded on a national stage four other times this season.
•    She was recognized by PrepVolleyball.com as the Non-Power 5 National Freshman of the Week on Sept. 19.
•    She picked up VolleyMob.com National Player of the Week Honorable Mention accolades on Oct. 2.
•    She has twice been honored as as VolleyMob.com National Player of the Week Other Notable (Sept. 4, Sept. 25).

DeWALT UP TO 9 SUN BELT WEEKLY HONORS
•    Emily DeWalt has captured nine Sun Belt Conference weekly accolades this season, which is one shy of tying the league record for most in a single campaign.
•    She was most-recently tabbed as the Sun Belt Freshman of the Week on Oct. 15 after helping lead the Bobcats to victories over Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina.
•    The loss for the Chanticleers was just the fourth against a league opponent since joining the conference in 2016 (40-4).
•    DeWalt racked up 77 assists (11.00/set), 27 digs (3.86/set), 10 kills (1.43/set) and six blocks (0.86/set) in the two matches. She began her week with 35 assists, eight digs, six kills and two blocks in a sweep over the Mountaineers. The following day, the Helotes, Texas, native registered 42 assists, 19 digs, four kills and four blocks against CCU.
•    She has also been named Sun Belt Freshman of the Week on four other occasions (Sept. 3, Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1).
•    She has won four Sun Belt Setter of the Week honors (Sept. 3, Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1). She is the first freshman in conference history to win the accolade more than once.

BREWER CAPTURES NATIONAL AWARD
•    Halee Brewer was honored as the PrepVolleyball.com National Unsung Hero of the Week on Oct. 10.
•    The accolade is handed out on a weekly basis to a player not nominated for conference player of the week who did something extraordinary for their college or university, specifically a player who's not usually in the headlines but deserves recognition.
•    The senior middle blocker earned the laurel after stepping into a huge role for Texas State. After not having seen the floor since Sept. 14 (eight matches), the Longview, Texas, native was called upon in the fourth set against Georgia Southern to aid with a struggling Bobcat block.
•    She stepped up and made an immediate impact, recording three blocks in the first five points and creating a spark that lifted the maroon and gold to the 3-1 triumph over the Eagles. Brewer put an exclamation mark on the victory by recording her career-high fourth block on the final point of the match.
•    She was rewarded for her performance with a start the following night against Georgia State. Not only did she tie her career high with a team-leading four blocks, but she added her first kill of the season in a sweep over the Panthers.
•    The Bobcats entered the weekend ranked No. 11 in the Sun Belt Conference in blocks, and the maroon and gold vaulted all the way into fourth thanks in large part to Brewer's defensive efforts. Texas State had a season-high 14 blocks against Georgia Southern and tallied seven against Georgia State.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINES
    Five different members of the maroon and gold have recorded at least one double-double this season.
•    Emily DeWalt (15) - The true freshman has registered at least 10 assists and digs in 15 of Texas State's 23 matches this season. That mark leads the Sun Belt Conference.
•    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.
•    Cheyenne Huskey (5) - The junior transfer has logged double-digit kills and digs against UTSA, James Madison, Rice, Northern Arizona, and Arkansas State.
•    Amy Pflughaupt (1) - The senior ended the match against Rice with season highs in both kills (18) and digs (15).
•    Brooke Johnson (1) - The sophomore collected 11 digs and 10 assists against Kentucky.

2018 CAREER-HIGH PERFORMANCES
    Below is a list of all Bobcat returners who have registered new single-match career highs in 2018.
•    Halee Brewer - 5 blocks (Appalachian State)
•    Madison Daigle - 4 assists (UTSA), 6 digs (James Madison), .750 attack percentage (Georgia State)
•    Micah Dinwiddie - 11 assists (Louisiana)
•    Brooke Johnson - 4 aces (UTA)
•    Tyeranee Scott - .900 attack percentage (Louisiana), 2 assists (UTA)
•    Konner Wood - 3 assists (UTSA)

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