MATCH 30: Texas State at UT Arlington
Time / Date	6:30 p.m. / Friday, November 9
Location	Arlington, Texas
Arena	College Park Center
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Video ($)	Mavericks All-Access
Audio	None
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	UTA leads 41-38

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team will end the regular season with a road tilt at UT Arlington.

The Bobcats (23-6, 14-1) are set to face the Mavericks (15-10, 9-6) at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 inside College Park Center. TXST has already secured sole possession of the 2018 Sun Belt Regular Season Championship, while UTA is currently fighting for playoff positioning.

The Bobcats enter the weekend with a school-record NCAA RPI of No. 25. Appalachian State is the second-highest Sun Belt school at No. 104.

Texas State is currently receiving votes in the VolleyMob.com National Top 25 Power Rankings. The maroon and gold is ranked No. 20 in the most-recent iteration of the VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll. TXST recently completed the month of October 9-0, marking the fifth time in school history that the maroon and gold went 9-0 or better in a month.

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 23-6 record this season and is 14-1 in Sun Belt Conference action.
•    TXST recently wrapped up a 17-match win streak, which was the longest since 2000 and third-longest in school history.
•    Texas State also had a 10-match win streak last year. This marked the first time in history that the maroon and gold has posted double-digit win streaks in back-to-back campaigns.
•    The 10 road wins lead the nation, while the 23 wins overall are tied for fourth-most in the NCAA.
•    Statistically, TXST leads the Sun Belt in most wins overall (23), home wins (11), road wins (10), longest win streak (17), attack percentage (.260), assists per set (13.33) and kills per set (14.00).
•    Individually, Emily DeWalt leads the Sun Belt in double-doubles (18), while ranking third in assists (10.22) and eighth in aces (0.29). Madison Daigle is fourth in hitting percentage (.348) and sixth in blocks (1.06), Cheyenne Huskey is sixth in kills (3.01), Amy Pflughaupt is eighth in kills (2.92), and Micah Dinwiddie is ninth in digs (3.70).
•    Texas State's strength of schedule is currently ranked No. 42 in the nation. The next closest Sun Belt school is Coastal Carolina at No. 100, while Little Rock is third at No. 118.
•    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 UT ARLINGTON
•    The Mavericks (15-10, 9-6 Sun Belt) are battling for playoff positioning in the Sun Belt West Division.
•    They are 2-3 in their last five matches, taking contests from ULM and Arkansas, while dropping tilts to South Alabama, Louisiana and Little Rock.
•    UTA has one of the top defensive squads in the Sun Belt, ranking first in digs (16.23) and second in opponent hitting percentage (.177). The team is also fifth in both kills (12.45) and assists (11.84).
•    Madison Hill leads the conference in attack percentage (.401), Madelyn St. Germain leads the league in digs (4.55) and Alex Janak leads in aces (0.40).
•    The Mavericks enter the final match of the regular season in second place in the Sun Belt West Division. They are one half-match clear of Arkansas State and Little Rock.
•    UTA leads the all-time series 41-38, but Texas State has won 26 of the last 33 meetings. The Bobcats have also captured 17 of the last 19 contests, including each of the last seven.

BATTLE TESTED
•    Four of Texas State's six 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 recently. 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. 15 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 already locked up the No.  1 seed and will have played in the semifinals all six years since joining the Sun Belt. That mark includes a tournament title in 2013.
•    All matches will be streamed live on ESPN Plus.

WHERE THEY STAND
•    TXST is currently 14-1 in league play and has already locked up sole possession of the Sun Belt Regular Season Championship. This marks the first conference regular season title for the Bobcats since the won the 2011 Southland Conference crown.
•    The Bobcats will be the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Championship tournament.
•    If the season were to end today, Texas State and App would win their respective divisions and earn double byes into the semifinals of the postseason tournament.
•    Coastal Carolina and UT Arlington 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 Arkansas State (No. 5), Little Rock (No. 6), South Alabama (No. 7) and Troy (No. 8).
•    Louisiana , ULM, Georgia State, and Georgia Southern are all currently on the outside looking in for a playoff berth.

THE BEST IS IN THE WEST
•    The Sun Belt West Division has reigned supreme over the East Division this year.
•    Five of the six teams from the West have at least 14 wins and a .500 record, and every team has at least 11 victories.
•    Appalachian State (19-7) is the only team from the East with at least 14 victories or a winning record.
•    The combined winning percentage from the West is currently .579 (95-69) overall and .558 (48-38) in league play.
•    The combined winning percentage amongst East teams is currently .433 (68-89) overall and .442 (38-48) in Sun Belt matches.
•    In matches pitting East vs. West teams in 2018, the West won the series 23-13.

THE LAST TIME OUT
•    Texas State defeated Little Rock 3-2 (25-23, 11-25, 25-19, 18-25, 15-7) Nov. 3 in a Sun Belt Conference match inside Jack Stephens Center.
•    The victory for TXST spoiled Senior Day for the Trojans and gave the Bobcats sole possession of the 2018 Sun Belt Regular Season Championship.
•    Emily DeWalt was the fulcrum of the offense with 39 assists, while also providing 13 digs. Micah Dinwiddie was the catalyst of the back row, adding 12 digs and eight assists. Cheyenne Huskey posted 12 kills and nine digs, while Sarabi Worsley-Gilbert added 11 kills for the winning side.
•    LR led in kills (61-51), attack percentage (.258-.139), assists (58-50), digs (75-61) and blocks (12-9). Texas State led the way in aces (9-3).
•    TXST swept the season series over LR and improved to 8-5 all-time in the series. The Bobcats also improved to 4-1 in five-set matches this year.
 
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 12 occasions (nine at home, three on the road). The rest of the league has combined - in matches not in San Marcos - for just seven. Six of those matches (three for Coastal Carolina, one each for Georgia Southern and Louisiana) were on the road. Troy hosted South Alabama on Oct. 31 in front of 1,263 fans, marking the only home Sun Belt crowd in double figures that did not feature Texas State.
•    TXST's average attendance is currently 1,255, and the total attendance is 15,061. The average is a new school record, and the total number is second-most in a single season in school history.
•    Neither Georgia State nor Little Rock has even seen 1,000 fans this season.
•    Appalachian State, Arkansas State, UT Arlington, and ULM have each only seen 1,000 fans once, and all of those came at Texas State. The largest crowd LR 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.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINES
    Five different members of the maroon and gold have recorded at least one double-double this season.
•    Emily DeWalt (18) - The true freshman has registered at least 10 assists and digs in 18 of Texas State's 29 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 (6) - The junior transfer has logged double-digit kills and digs against UTSA, James Madison, Rice, Northern Arizona, Arkansas State, and Louisiana.
•    Amy Pflughaupt (1) - The senior ended the match against Rice with season highs in both kills (18) and digs (15).
•    Brooke Johnson (2) - The sophomore collected double-digit digs and assists against both Kentucky and Arkansas State.

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