SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team will host the 2018 Creeds & Crests Classic Aug. 30-Sept. 1. The Bobcats are set to welcome UTSA, Incarnate Word, Abilene Christian and James Madison inside the newly-renovated, newly-named Strahan Arena.
The Bobcats are fresh off starting the new season 0-3 with losses to No. 26 Marquette, No. 16 Baylor and LSU at the Baylor Invitational.
The maroon and gold will open the tournament against the undefeated Roadrunners (3-0) at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 30. TXST will then face James Madison (3-1) at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 31 before wrapping up with matches against Abilene Christian (2-3) at noon Sept. 1 and Incarnate Word (0-3) at 6:30 p.m. later that day.
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| MATCH 5: James Madison at Texas State |
| Time / Date |
6:30 p.m. / Friday, August 31 |
| Location |
San Marcos, Texas |
| Arena |
Strahan Arena |
| Live Stats |
Statbroadcast | SIDEARM |
| Video ($) |
TXST All-Access |
| Audio |
None |
| Match Notes |
Texas State |
| Series History |
Texas State leads 2-0 |
There will be a courtesy golf cart available during the tournament only for fans who need assistance from the parking lot to the arena.
AMERICA'S LONGEST-TENURED STAFF
•   The Texas State full-time coaching staff consists of head coach
Karen Chisum, associate head coach
Tracy Smith and assistant coach
Sean Huiet.
•   The trio has been at Texas State for a combined 69 years (39/17/13), a mark which is by far the highest in the nation for any coaching staff. The next closest is Bryant at just 52 years, while St. John's and Northern Iowa are tied for third at 49 combined seasons.
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| MATCH 6: Incarnate Word at Texas State |
| Time / Date |
Noon / Saturday, September 1 |
| Location |
San Marcos, Texas |
| Arena |
Strahan Arena |
| Live Stats |
Statbroadcast | SIDEARM |
| Video ($) |
TXST All-Access |
| Audio |
None |
| Match Notes |
Texas State |
| Series History |
Texas State leads 7-1 |
A LOOK AT TEXAS STATE
•   Texas State finished last season with 25 wins and the first postseason triumph in school history. The maroon and gold knocked off Rice in the opening round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
•   The Bobcats ended 2017 leading the Sun Belt Conference in RPI (70), most wins overall (25) and most home wins (13).
•   Statistically, TXST led the league in opponent hitting percentage (.160), assists (13.21), kills (13.97), and digs (17.54).
•   Other than digs in 2013, Texas State had previously never finished a campaign leading the Sun Belt in a statistical category.
•   The 25 overall victories and 10 non-conference wins from last year were both the highest marks since 2013.
•   TXST ended last year with a winning record and reached the 20-win plateau for the fourth time in five years since joining the Sun Belt.
•   In her 39 years leading the Bobcats,
Karen Chisum has 30 winning seasons and 24 campaigns with at least 20 victories.
•   The Bobcats had four players with at least 300 kills for the first time since at least 2001 (individual stats only go back that far). Those were
Megan Porter (379),
Jaliyah Bolden (338),
Amy Pflughaupt (330) and
Madison Daigle (314).
A LOOK AT UTSA
•   UTSA owns a perfect 3-0 mark through the first week of the new season after tallying victories over San Francisco, Quinnipiac and Army to win the Army Invitational.
•   The Roadrunners are the only team to enter this weekend's Creeds & Crests Classic unblemished.
•   Kara Teal (Defensive Player of the Week) and Kirby Smith (Co-Freshman of the Week) both collected All-Conference USA laurels for their efforts last week.
•   UTSA tallied a 12-16 record a season ago and was picked sixth in the preseason C-USA coaches' poll.
•   Texas State leads the all-time series 56-14 after splitting a pair of matches last season. The maroon and gold won 3-2 in San Marcos and lost 3-2 on neutral grounds in Waco.
A LOOK AT JAMES MADISON
•   James Madison went 3-1 in their home tournament last weekend, posting routs over Fairfield, Delaware State and Missouri. The only blemish on the resume was a 19-17 five-set loss to No. 29 Wichita State.
•   The Dukes earned a national ranking of No. 13 in this week's VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll.
•   Briley Brind'Amour was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association's Offensive Player of the Week.
•   JMU recorded a 23-6 record in 2017. The Dukes won the CAA Championship and advanced to the NCAA Championship for the second-straight year.
•   James Madison was selected first in the CAA preseason coaches' poll.
•   Texas State is 2-0 all-time against the Dukes, but this will be the first meeting since 2004. The only other matchup came in 1993. Both were 3-0 triumphs for the Bobcats.
A LOOK AT INCARNATE WORD
•   Incarnate Word dropped all three matches at the I-10 Challenge in New Orleans, suffering defeats at the hands of UTEP, Louisiana and Tulane.
•   UIW registered an 8-15 record in 2017 with a 7-9 mark in Southland Conference action. The team was picked ninth in the SLC preseason coaches' poll.
•   Texas State boasts a 7-1 record all-time against the Cardinals. The first seven meetings all came from 1970-82 with the maroon and gold winning by a combined score of 14-1. The lone matchup in the series since then was a 3-2 UIW triumph in Lubbock in 2014.
A LOOK AT ABILENE CHRISTIAN
•   ACU (2-3) split a quartet of tilts in Atlanta to open the season before dropping a 3-0 home match to Texas Tech on Tuesday.
•   The Wildcats opened with a pair of triumphs over Georgetown and Winthrop, marking the first 2-0 start to a season since 2008. Abilene Christian closed out the weekend trip with losses to host Georgia Tech and Idaho State.
•   Kendall Bosse was named to the all-tournament team.
•   ACU went 13-18 last year and was projected to finish sixth in the preseason Southland Conference coaches' poll.
•   Texas State (12-0) has never lost to Abilene Christian. Other than a single meeting in San Marcos in 2014, the only other matchups between the two programs came from 1974-83.
THE DEBUT OF STRAHAN ARENA
•   The former Strahan Coliseum is currently undergoing multimillion dollar renovations that are all slated to be unveiled for the 2018-19 academic year.
•   The home of Texas State volleyball has been renamed Strahan Arena at the University Events Center.
•   The UEC features two major additions, those being a new court and videoboard. A new Conner Sports VIP court system is set to be installed inside Strahan Arena, which will replace the hardwood court that debuted in 1998. The project is being managed by Turner Construction & Quality Hardwood Floors, Inc.
•   A new Daktronics hi-definition 1080 6mm 13-by-21 feet four-sided video display now hangs from the rafters inside Strahan Arena. The video display has replaced the 16-by-9 feet 12mm videoboard and scoreboard that once hung on the Coliseum wall. Turner Construction & Daktronics managed this project.
•   The videoboard is already operational, while the playing surface will be installed prior to the Texas State home opener Aug. 30 against UTSA. The official grand opening of all UEC projects is slated for Family Weekend on Oct. 6, when Bobcat football hosts Louisiana.
THE 2018 SCHEDULE
•   The Bobcats will compete 30 times overall this season, with 12 of those matches coming at home. They will also have 14 road matches and four tilts that will be contested on neutral-site courts.
•   Highlighting the slate are eight programs that competed in the postseason last year, including two teams that advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2017 NCAA Championship (Texas, Kentucky).
•   Four other opponents also competed in the NCAA tournament (Baylor, LSU, Marquette, Coastal Carolina), while two more played in the 2017 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (Rice, Arkansas State).
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 --
