MATCH 17: Little Rock at Texas State
Time / Date	6:30 p.m. / Friday, September 28
Location	San Marcos, Texas
Arena	Strahan Arena
Live Stats	Statbroadcast | SIDEARM
Video ($)	TXST All-Access
Audio	None
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	TXST leads 6-5

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team returns home to Strahan Arena following the longest road stretch of the season.

The Bobcats (11-5, 2-0 Sun Belt) will play host to Little Rock (10-5, 2-0) and Arkansas State (10-5, 2-0) at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 and Sept. 29, respectively.

The bouts feature three of the four teams that went undefeated through the first week of Sun Belt Conference play, including all three remaining undefeated squads from the Sun Belt West Division.

 

MATCH 18: Arkansas State at Texas State
Time / Date	6:30 p.m. / Saturday, September 29
Location	San Marcos, Texas
Arena	Strahan Arena
Live Stats	Statbroadcast | SIDEARM
Video ($)	TXST All-Access
Audio	KTSW 89.9 FM
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	Tied 8-8

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 11-5 record this season and is off to a 2-0 start in Sun Belt Conference action.
•    The Bobcats are receiving 22 votes in the latest VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll and sit just four spots shy of cracking the top 25.
•    The maroon and gold won five consecutive matches earlier this year and is currently on a season best six-match win streak.
•    Statistically, TXST leads the Sun Belt in most wins overall (11), road wins (5), assists per set (13.48) and kills per set (14.09), while ranking second in hitting percentage (.249) and third in digs (15.57).
•    Individually, Emily DeWalt leads the Sun Belt in double-doubles (9) and ranks fourth in assists (10.16), Amy Pflughaupt is fifth in kills (3.35), Madison Daigle is sixth in blocks (1.07), Micah Dinwiddie is sixth in digs (3.76), and Cheyenne Huskey is sixth in kills (3.09).
•    Texas State's strength of schedule is currently ranked No. 36 in the nation. The next closest Sun Belt school is South Alabama at No. 88.
•    In her 39 years leading the Bobcats, Karen Chisum has 30 winning seasons and 24 campaigns with at least 20 victories.

A LOOK AT LITTLE ROCK
•    The Trojans (10-5, 2-0) currently own an unblemished league mark this season.
•    After picking up select non-conference triumphs over Mercer, Samford, Lamar and Villanova, Little Rock opened Sun Belt action with a pair of home victories over South Alabama and Troy.
•    The Trojans are home to the leagues top defensive unit, leading the way in blocks (2.79/set) and opponent hitting percentage (.137), while ranking second in digs (15.93).
•    Offensively, LR ranks first in hitting percentage (.249) and third in both kills (13.28) and assists (12.55).
•    Veronica Marin - the reigning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week - leads the league in blocks (1.62) and is fourth in hitting percentage (.339). Carol Barbosa is second in hitting percentage (.347) and Sydnee Martin is fourth in digs (4.29).
•    The team was projected to finish fifth in the Sun Belt West Division this season.
•    Texas State leads the all-time series by a narrow 6-5 margin. The Bobcats are 4-1 in the last five meetings, including a pair of home-and-home sweeps last year.

A LOOK AT ARKANSAS STATE
•    Arkansas State (10-5, 2-0) boasts an identical record to Little Rock's. The team will travel to UT Arlington one day before making the trek to San Marcos.
•    The Red Wolves opened league action with home wins over Troy and South Alabama. They have also knocked off Memphis, Southeast Missouri, Providence and Southern Illinois.
•    A-State ranks second in opponent hitting percentage (.175), fourth in both kills (13.04) and assists (12.27), and fifth in aces (1.34).
•    The Red Wolves feature the league's top offensive threat in Carlisa May. The Sun Belt Offensive Preseason Player of the Year is also the reigning Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week.
•    May leads the league in kills (4.75), Ellie Watkins is third in assists (10.19) and Tatum Ticknor is third in digs (4.32).
•    The team was projected to finish second in the Sun Belt West Division this season.
•    The all-time series is tied 8-8 after Texas State swept A-State twice last season. The Red Wolves won six of the first seven meetings, and the Bobcats have captured seven of the last nine.

PINK MATCH SET FOR OCT. 2
•    Texas State has announced the date for the 12th Annual Pink Match, which will be held when the Bobcats host UT Arlington at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 2 inside Strahan Arena.
•    TXST hosts the fundraising event for Pink Heals Hays County in an effort to raise money for the organization.
•    In conjunction with their bout with the Mavericks, the maroon and gold will take donations and hold a silent auction as part of their annual contest to help promote cancer awareness. The silent auction will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be open until the 15th point is scored in the third set. All proceeds stay local and support Pink Heals Hays County.
•    Pink Heals Hays County is a chapter of the National Pink Heals Tour and has donated more than $110,000 since 2012 to assist families in their battle against cancer.

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. 4 Texas, No. 19 Kentucky, No. 20 Marquette, No. 21 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 also own victories over James Madison, who was ranked No. 13 in the VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll, and Rice, who was receiving votes 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 BEST IS IN THE WEST
•    Through the first five weeks of the season, the Sun Belt West Division has reigned supreme over the East Division.
•    Every team from the West has at least seven wins, five of the six have winning records, and three have at least 10 victories.
•    Appalachian State (10-4) is the only team from the East with at least seven victories or a winning record.
•    The combined winning percentage from the West is currently .607 (54-35) overall and .667 (8-4) in league play.
•    The combined winning percentage amongst East teams is currently .390 (30-47) overall and .250 (2-6) in Sun Belt matches.

THE LAST TIME OUT
•    Texas State earned a 3-1 triumph (25-17, 22-25, 25-18, 25-15) over Louisiana on Sept. 23 inside a raucous Earl K. Long Gym.
•    Tyeranee Scott hit .900 (9 kills, 0 errors, 10 attacks) on the day to tie the school record for best attack percentage in a single match. Her mark equaled the exact same numbers put up by former Bobcat Jordan Kohl against Prairie View A&M on Sept. 4, 2015.
•    Micah Dinwiddie finished with a career-high 11 assists and a match-high 18 digs to register the first double-double of her career. Amy Pflughaupt led all players with 19 kills. Madison Daigle (14), Janell Fitzgerald (13) and Cheyenne Huskey (10) also reached double figures in the kill department. Emily DeWalt earned her ninth double-double with 53 assists and 14 digs.
•    The maroon and gold posted a .338 hitting percentage, which was the second-highest mark Louisiana has allowed all season. Conversely, TXST held the Ragin' Cajuns to a .198 hitting clip, while also leading the way in kills (67-44), assists (64-42) and digs (60-45). UL led in aces (2-0) and blocks (10-8).
•    Texas State improved to 16-1 all-time over Louisiana.

DeWALT SWEEPS SETTER/FRESHMAN AWARDS FOR 3RD TIME
•    Emily DeWalt was named both the Sun Belt Conference Setter and Freshman of the Week for the third time this year on Sept. 24.
•    She is the first freshman in Sun Belt history to win multiple Setter of the Week awards.
•    She was also named a VolleyMob.com National Player of the Week "Other Notable" for the second time this season (Sept. 4, Sept. 25).
•    She has now collected three national awards this season, including being named the PrepVolleyball.com National Non-Power 5 Freshman of the Week on Sept. 19.
•    DeWalt had two double-doubles and led the conference with 13.00 assists per set (91 total) to power Texas State to a pair of road wins. The rookie steered Texas State to a cumulative .346 attack percentage, which was exactly .100 points higher than the second-best team from the conference over the course of the week.
•    TXST also registered 16.57 kills/set, which was a mark that landed 1.57 kills/set higher than any other Sun Belt program. The Bobcats finished with 15.71 assists/set, which was 1.21 assists/set more than the next-closest conference team.
•    She is the only player from the Sun Belt to win a national award this season.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINES
    Five different members of the maroon and gold have recorded at least one double-double this season.
•    Emily DeWalt (9) - The true freshman has registered at least 10 assists and digs in nine of Texas State's 16 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 (4) - The junior transfer has logged double-digit kills and digs against UTSA, James Madison, Rice, and Northern Arizona.
•    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.
•    Madison Daigle - 4 assists (UTSA), 6 digs (James Madison)
•    Micah Dinwiddie - 11 assists (Louisiana)
•    Brooke Johnson - 3 aces (Kentucky)
•    Tyeranee Scott - .900 attack percentage (Louisiana)
•    Konner Wood - 3 assists (UTSA)

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.

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