MATCH 26: Louisiana at Texas State
Time / Date	6:30 p.m. / Friday, October 26
Location	San Marcos, Texas
Arena	Strahan Arena
Live Stats	Statbroadcast I SIDEARM
Video ($)	TXST All-Access
Audio	None
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	TXST leads 16-1

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team returns home for the final time during the regular season, hosting Louisiana and ULM this upcoming weekend.

The Bobcats (20-5, 11-0) welcome the Ragin' Cajuns (12-12, 4-6) at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 26 and will play host to the Warhawks (9-14, 2-8) at noon Oct. 28 inside Strahan Arena.

The ULM bout will double as Senior Day for Texas State. The Bobcats will honor Halee Brewer, Madison Daigle, Megan Porter and Amy Pflughaupt prior to the match.

 

MATCH 27: ULM at Texas State
Time / Date	Noon / Sunday, October 28
Location	San Marcos, Texas
Arena	Strahan Arena
Live Stats	Statbroadcast I SIDEARM
Video ($)	TXST All-Access
Audio	KTSW 89.9 FM
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	TXST leads 43-2

The Bobcats enter the weekend with an NCAA RPI of No. 28. Little Rock is the second-highest Sun Belt school at No. 112. Texas State is currently receiving votes in the VolleyMob.com National Top 25 Power Rankings. The maroon and gold is ranked No. 22 in the most-recent iteration of the VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll.

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 20-5 record this season and is 11-0 in Sun Belt Conference action.
•    TXST is currently riding a 15-match win streak, which is the longest since 2000 and third-longest in school history.
•    Texas State also had a 10-match win streak last year. This marks the first time in school history that the maroon and gold has posted double-digit win streaks in back-to-back campaigns.
•    Statistically, TXST leads the Sun Belt in most wins overall (20), home wins (9), road wins (9), longest win streak (15), attack percentage (.269), assists per set (13.71) and kills per set (14.42), while ranking fourth in digs (15.55).
•    Individually, Emily DeWalt leads the Sun Belt in double-doubles (16) and assists (10.64). Madison Daigle is fourth in hitting percentage (.353) and sixth in blocks (1.17), Amy Pflughaupt is fifth in kills (3.16), Cheyenne Huskey is seventh in kills (3.13), and Micah Dinwiddie is sixth in digs (3.85).
•    Texas State's strength of schedule is currently ranked No. 49 in the nation. The next closest Sun Belt school is Coastal Carolina at No. 53, while Arkansas State is third at No. 112.
•    Coach Karen Chisum has now led Texas State to 31 winning seasons in her 39 years at the helm. She has also now coached 25 different teams to at least 20 wins.

A LOOK AT LOUISIANA
•    The Ragin' Cajuns enter the weekend at 12-12 overall and 4-6 in league play.
•    Louisiana is currently on a two-match win streak, which is the longest for the team during league play this season. The squad defeated Georgia State and Georgia Southern at home last weekend.
•    UL ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in both hitting percentage (.219) and digs (15.56).
•    The Ragin' Cajuns feature Sydney Davis, who is the reigning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week. She leads the league in digs (4.56). Hali Wisnoskie ranks eighth in kills (3.05), while Nia Antoine is eighth in hitting percentage (.296).
•    The team is currently in fifth place in the Sun Belt West Division.
•    Texas State is 16-1 all-time against Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns picked up their first win in the series last year in Lafayette, but TXST returned the favor in the semifinals of the conference championship. The Bobcats also defeated UL 3-1 in Lafayette earlier this season.

A LOOK AT ULM
•    The Warhawks (9-14, 2-8) most-recently knocked off Georgia Southern and Georgia State for their first back-to-back league wins since the start of conference play in 2016.
•    The team plays UTA in Arlington two days before traveling to San Marcos.
•    ULM is fourth in the Sun Belt in both opponent hitting percentage (.193) and blocks (2.37).
•    Catherine Griffith is 10th in the league in hitting percentage this season (.282), while Taylor Wood ranks fifth during Sun Belt play in blocks (1.15).
•    TXST is 43-2 all-time against the Warhawks in a rivalry dating back to 1984. The Bobcats are also on a 12-match win streak in which they have dropped just two sets total.

BATTLE TESTED
•    Four of Texas State's five setbacks this season have come against teams who have been ranked all season long in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll (Texas, Kentucky, Marquette, 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 two weeks ago. 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. 18 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 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
•    The 2018 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship will be conducted Nov. 15-18 inside GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta.
•    The top four teams from each division (8 total) will qualify for postseason play. The East and West division champions will earn the top two seeds and receive byes through to the semifinals on Nov. 17.
•    The next two best records (regardless of division) will earn the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds and will receive byes into the quarterfinals on Nov. 16.
•    The final four teams will be seeded regardless of division and will compete in the first round on Nov. 15.
•    The championship match will be held at noon Nov. 18.
•    Texas State has reached at least the semifinals all five years since joining the Sun Belt, which includes a tournament title in 2013.
•    All matches will be streamed live on ESPN Plus.

WHERE THEY STAND
•    TXST is currently 11-0 in league play and has a three-match lead in the loss column over Little Rock in the Sun Belt West Division.
•    The Magic Number for the Bobcats to clinch at least a share of both the division title and the conference regular-season championship is two. The Magic Number to win both outright is three.
•    If the season were to end today, Texas State and Appalachian State would win their respective divisions and earn double byes into the semifinals of the postseason tournament.
•    Little Rock and UTA 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 Coastal Carolina (No. 5), South Alabama (No. 6), Arkansas State (No. 7) and Troy (No. 8).
•    Louisiana, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, and ULM are all currently on the outside looking in for a playoff berth.

THE BEST IS IN THE WEST
•    So far this season, the Sun Belt West Division has reigned supreme over the East Division.
•    Five of the six teams from the West have at least 12 wins and a .500 record, and all but one have at least 10 victories.
•    Appalachian State (15-7) is the only team from the East with at least 12 victories or a record at .500 or better.
•    The combined winning percentage from the West is currently .567 (72-55) overall and .567 (34-26) in league play.
•    The combined winning percentage amongst East teams is currently .427 (56-75) overall and .433 (26-34) in Sun Belt matches.
•    In matches pitting East vs. West teams in 2018, the West leads 20-12.

THE LAST TIME OUT
•    Texas State swept Troy 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-19) in a Sun Belt Conference match Oct. 20 inside Trojan Arena.
•    The Bobcats became the sixth team in the nation to reach the 20-win plateau this season.
•    Janell Fitzgerald led all players with 12 kills. She had pinpoint accuracy with just one error on 23 swings for a .478 hitting percentage. Madison Daigle hit .500 and finished with eight kills and five blocks of her own. Emily DeWalt distributed 30 assists and tallied her 16th double-double with 11 digs. Micah Dinwiddie also corralled 11 digs.
•    Texas State led in kills (44-28), attack percentage (.301-.089), assists (37-25), digs (47-40), and blocks (11-4). Troy led in aces (6-4).
•    TXST improved to 10-0 all-time over Troy.

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.

DeWALT TIES RECORD WITH 10 SUN BELT WEEKLY HONORS                                                                                                                         
•    Emily DeWalt has captured 10 Sun Belt Conference weekly accolades this season, which is tied for most in a single campaign in league history.
•    She was most-recently tabbed as the Sun Belt Setter of the Week on Oct. 22 after helping lead the Bobcats to road victories over South Alabama and Troy.
•    She loaded up the stat sheet with 79 assists (11.29/set), 18 digs (2.57/set), six blocks (0.86/set) and five kills (0.71/set). She began with 49 assists, seven digs and five blocks in a four-set win over South Alabama. She then tallied 30 assists, 11 digs and four kills in a sweep of the Trojans. She has a conference-best 16 double-doubles this season.
•    Texas State leads the league with a school-record 14 conference laurels.
•    DeWalt has also been named Sun Belt Setter of the Week on four other occasions (Sept. 3, Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1). She is the first freshman in conference history to win the accolade more than once.
•    She has won five Sun Belt Freshman of the Week honors (Sept. 3, Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1, Oct. 15).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINES
    Five different members of the maroon and gold have recorded at least one double-double this season.
•    Emily DeWalt (16) - The true freshman has registered at least 10 assists and digs in 15 of Texas State's 25 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.

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