MATCH 12: Gonzaga vs. Texas State
Time / Date	4 p.m. / Friday, September 14
Location	Tempe, Ariz.
Arena	Wells Fargo Arena
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Video	None
Audio	None
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	Gonzaga leads 1-0

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team continues a 20-day stretch away from home, closing out the non-conference portion of its schedule at the 2018 Sparky Classic Presented by DoubleTree by Hilton Phoenix Tempe.

The Bobcats (6-5) will meet Gonzaga, Northern Arizona and host Arizona State Sept. 14-15 inside Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz.

TXST will open the weekend against the Bulldogs (3-5) at 4 p.m. Sept. 14. The maroon and gold are then set to face the Lumberjacks (7-3) at 11:30 a.m. and the Sun Devils (7-2) at 9 p.m. on Sept. 15. All times are CDT.

 

MATCH 13: Northern Arizona vs. Texas State
Time / Date	11:30 a.m. / Saturday, September 15
Location	Tempe, Ariz.
Arena	Wells Fargo Arena
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Video	None
Audio	None
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	Texas State leads 2-1

The Bobcats are in the midst of their longest road swing of the season.

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.

 

MATCH 14: Texas State at Arizona State
Time / Date	9 p.m. / Saturday, September 15
Location	Tempe, Ariz.
Arena	Wells Fargo Arena
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Video ($)	Pac-12 Network
Audio	None
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	Arizona State leads 3-0

A LOOK AT TEXAS STATE
•    Texas State has posted a 6-5 record in 2018.
•    The Bobcats had a five-match win streak earlier this year and is coming off a 3-0 road victory over UTSA.
•    Statistically, TXST leads the Sun Belt in assists (12.90) and kills (13.36), while ranking second in digs (15.85) and fifth in blocks (2.24).
•    Senior Amy Pflughaupt is fourth in the Sun Belt in kills (3.36), freshman Emily DeWalt is fourth in assists (9.28), senior Madison Daigle is fifth in blocks (1.26) and junior Micah Dinwiddie is fifth in digs (3.89).
•    In her 39 years leading the Bobcats, Karen Chisum has 30 winning seasons and 24 campaigns with at least 20 victories.

A LOOK AT GONZAGA
•    Gonzaga enters the weekend sporting a 3-5 record, with all three victories coming in their last three outings.
•    They knocked off California, Fresno State and Portland last week, while suffering early-season losses to powerhouse programs No. 11 UCLA (twice), Iowa State and No. 22 Utah.
•    The Bulldogs were selected to finish fifth in the loaded West Coast Conference behind No. 1 BYU, No. 23 San Diego, (RV) Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine.  
•    Gonzaga went 14-16 a season ago with a 9-9 conference mark. The team features returning all-conference selections Payton Mack and Sarah Penner.
•    The matchup will mark the second in school history between the two programs. The only other match was a 3-0 Gonzaga victory on neutral grounds in 1989.

A LOOK AT NORTHERN ARIZONA
•    NAU owns a 7-3 mark so far this season. The team most-recently suffered a five-set loss to Cal State Northridge following a massive upset win over a Florida team that competed in the national championship match last season.
•    The Lumberjacks have also defeated Utah Valley, Holy Cross and UC Davis.
•    NAU went 13-15 overall with a 9-7 mark in the Big Sky Conference last year. The team was selected to finish second in the Big Sky Preseason Poll behind Idaho.
•    Northern Arizona features All-Big Sky performers Kaylie Jorgenson, Abby Akin and Heaven Harris. Both Akin (offensive) and Harris (defensive) have already picked up Big Sky Player of the Week honors this year. Harris was the league's most outstanding freshman a year ago.
•    Texas State is 2-1 all-time against NAU. The Bobcats won a pair of meetings in 1986, and the Lumberjacks knocked off TXST in five sets in 2005.

A LOOK AT ARIZONA STATE
•    Arizona State has tallied a 7-2 record in 2018. The team has defeated UT Arlington, Pacific, Xavier, Murray State and Binghamton.
•    Losses have been to Missouri and Wyoming.
•    The Sun Devils recorded a 10-22 mark last year. They went 10-2 in non-conference play before finishing 0-20 in Pac-12 Conference action.
•    ASU did not return any All-Pac-12 performers from a year ago. The team was selected 11th in the 2018 Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' Poll ahead of California
•    Texas State has never defeated the Sun Devils. Arizona State is 3-0 all-time against TXST with the three meetings coming in 1999, 2000 and 2005.

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. 3 Texas, No. 18 Baylor, No. 20 Kentucky, No. 21 Marquette).
•    The fifth loss was to an LSU program that was receiving votes in the national poll.
•    In 104 total matches, the rest of the Sun Belt Conference has combined for just two against ranked opponents all season (Georgia Southern vs. No. 7 Minnesota / Arkansas State vs. No. 10 Creighton).
•    The Bobcats also own victories over James Madison, who was ranked No. 13 in the VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll, and Rice, who is receiving votes in the same poll.

THE LAST TIME OUT
•    Texas State powered past UTSA 3-0 (25-22, 31-29, 25-22) on Sept. 11 inside Convocation Center.
•    TXST was led by a 21-kill performance from Cheyenne Huskey. The total was the highest by a Sun Belt Conference player in a three-set match this season and the most by a Bobcat player in a three-set match since at least 2006 (Texas State's game-by-game statistics only go back through 2007). Huskey committed just five errors on 30 swings for a hitting percentage of .533.
•    Amy Pflughaupt registered 10 kills and just one error on 30 swings (.300), while Jillian Slaughter added nine kills and one error on 15 swings (.533). Emily DeWalt distributed 41 assists, and Micah Dinwiddie added a match-high 10 digs.
•    The Bobcats recorded a season-high hitting percentage of .356 and held the home team to just a .215 percentage. TXST also led in kills (50-47), assists (49-46), digs (41-39), and blocks (8-2). UTSA ended with the lead in service aces (5-3).

PFLUGHAUPT PICKS UP LEAGUE ACCOLADE
•    Amy Pflughaupt was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 10.
•    She had a dominant performance for a Texas State team that matched up with some of the stiffest competition in the country. She recorded 48 kills (4.00/set) and 25 digs (2.08/set) overall, while adding a pair of blocks and assists.  
•    She began with 18 kills and 15 digs in a five-set road win at Rice for her first double-double of the season. TXST also faced No. 6 Texas on the road and No. 16 Kentucky at home. In those two matches, Pflughaupt racked up 30 kills and just seven errors on 68 swings for a .338 attack percentage. The Bobcats took the first set from the Wildcats and became the first team in the Sun Belt to win a set over a top-25 opponent this season.
•    The accolade is the second of Pflughaupt's career and first of the season. The reigning Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year was first honored as the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 9 of last year.
•    Pflughaupt is the third Bobcat to pick up a weekly plaudit this season, as senior Madison Daigle (Defensive) and Emily DeWalt (Setter/Freshman) were both recognized last week. Texas State is now the only team in the Sun Belt to win all four weekly awards in 2018.

2018 TXST AWARD WATCH LIST
    Below is a list of all awards won by Bobcats in 2018.
•    Madison Daigle (3) - Preseason All-SBC / Creeds & Crests Classic All-Tournament Team / SBC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 3)
•    Emily DeWalt (3) - Creeds & Crests Classic MVP / SBC Setter of the Week (Sept. 3) / SBC Freshman of the Week (Sept. 3)
•    Micah Dinwiddie (2) - SBC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year / Preseason All-SBC
•    Janell Fitzgerald - Creeds & Crests Classic All-Tournament Team
•    Amy Pflughaupt (2) - Preseason All-SBC / SBC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 10)
•    Megan Porter - Preseason All-SBC




















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