MATCH 9: Texas State at No. 6 Texas
Time / Date	7 p.m. / Thursday, September 6
Location	Austin, Texas
Arena	Gregory Gymnasium
Live Stats	Statbroadcast | SIDEARM
TV/Online	Longhorn Network | WatchESPN
Audio	None
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	Texas leads 45-20-2

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team will compete against two of college volleyball's most storied programs over the course of three days.

The maroon and gold will first head to Austin to take on No. 6 Texas at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 inside Gregory Gymnasium. TXST will then play host to No. 16 Kentucky at 4 p.m. Sept. 8 inside Strahan Arena.

The match against the Longhorns will be broadcast live on Longhorn Network.

 

MATCH 10: No. 16 Kentucky at Texas State
Time / Date	4 p.m. / Saturday, September 8
Location	San Marcos, Texas
Arena	Strahan Arena
Live Stats	Statbroadcast | SIDEARM
Video ($)	TXST All-Access
Audio	None
Match Notes	Texas State
Series History	First Meeting

Fans attending the Kentucky match are encouraged to arrive early. Parking will be scarce due to Texas State hosting a football game later in the evening. Patrons parking in the UEC lot will be charged $10. Free parking will be made available in the JCK lot. Handicap parking spots will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the Jowers (free), Sewell (free) and UEC ($10) lots. Gates for the match will open at 2:30 p.m.

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.

A LOOK AT TEXAS STATE
•    Texas State sits at 5-3 after beginning the year 0-3.
•    The Bobcats extended their win streak to five matches in a row after earning a hard-fought 3-2 triumph on the road at Rice Tuesday.
•    Statistically, TXST leads the Sun Belt Conference in total kills (385), total assists (375) and total digs (492). The Bobcats are also one back of the Sun Belt lead in blocks (67).
•    Senior Madison Daigle is third in the Sun Belt in blocks per set (1.33), while freshman Emily DeWalt ranks fourth in assists (9.34) and junior Micah Dinwiddie is fourth in digs (4.32).
•    In her 39 years leading the Bobcats, Karen Chisum has 30 winning seasons and 24 campaigns with at least 20 victories.

A LOOK AT TEXAS
•    UT is 3-1 on the year with wins over No. 18 Oregon, High Point and No. 8 Florida. The lone setback was to No. 2 Wisconsin.
•    The Longhorns are currently ranked No. 6 in the nation after falling back from the No. 2 position attained last week.
•    Texas has competed in the NCAA Championship every year since 2004. The Longhorns won the national championship in 2012, played in the national championship match in both 2015 and 2016 and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals a year ago.
•    Micaya White was honored as the Big 12 Conference Preseason Player of the Year, and Logan Eggleston was selected as the league's preseason Freshman of the Year.
•    The Longhorns were voted as the preseason Big 12 favorites after posting a perfect 16-0 mark in league play a year ago.
•    Texas leads the all-time series 45-20-2. The Longhorns have won 35 of the last 36 matchups dating back to 1976. The lone triumph for the Bobcats in that span was a 3-2 victory in San Marcos in 2000.

A LOOK AT KENTUCKY
•    Kentucky owns a 3-3 mark in 2018. The Wildcats will face the Longhorns in a top-20 showdown the day prior to traveling to San Marcos.
•    UK began the season ranked No. 5 in the nation and currently checks in at No. 16.
•    The Wildcats have competed in the NCAA Championship each of the past 13 seasons. They advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals last year, marking the deepest postseason run for the program in the tournament's modern era.
•    Kentucky was tabbed as the favorites in the loaded Southeastern Conference, while Leah Edmond, Madison Lilley and Avery Skinner were all named to the Preseason All-SEC team.
•    Texas State has never faced Kentucky.

DAIGLE, DeWALT HONORED BY SUN BELT CONFERENCE
•    Madison Daigle and Emily DeWalt both earned Sun Belt Conference weekly accolades on Sept. 4.
•    Daigle was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week, while DeWalt picked up both Sun Belt Setter of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors.
•    The duo helped lead the Bobcats to the only 4-0 week in the Sun Belt. The maroon and gold topped UTSA, James Madison, Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian to win the 2018 Creeds & Crests Classic. DeWalt was honored as tournament MVP, while Daigle was selected to the all-tournament team.
•    Daigle recorded 24 blocks (1.60/set) and 13 digs (0.87/set) across the four victories. On top of her defensive production, Daigle totaled 44 kills (2.93/set) on a .417 attack percentage to go along with six assists.
•    The accolade is the second defensive plaudit of her career (Sept. 11, 2017) and her fourth Sun Belt honor overall. She was twice named the league's top freshman in 2015.
•    DeWalt used the first four double-doubles of her young career to become the first Sun Belt freshman since Nov. 11, 2013, to bring home setter of the week laurels.
•    Not only did she record 166 assists (11.07/set), but she also stuffed the stat sheet with 57 digs (3.80/set), 11 kills (0.73/set), 10 blocks (0.67/set) and eight service aces (0.53/set). She posted 47 assists and 24 digs against the Roadrunners, and her dig total was the highest by a Bobcat setter since 2007 (Shelbi Irvin).

BOBCATS SWEEP CREEDS & CRESTS
•    Texas State posted a 4-0 mark in the 2018 Creeds & Crests Classic Aug. 30-Sept. 1.
•    The annual tournament hosted by the Bobcats was won by the maroon and gold for the first time since 2015.
•    Freshman Emily DeWalt earned MVP honors after registering double-doubles in all four contests. She was joined on the all-tournament team by senior Madison Daigle and freshman Janell Fitzgerald.
•    Texas State opened the tournament with a 3-1 victory over rival UTSA. The match was the first for TXST inside newly-renovated Strahan Arena and featured the ninth-largest crowd in school history (1,638).
•    The Bobcats then knocked off James Madison (3-1) before taking down both Incarnate Word (3-0) and Abilene Christian (3-1).

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.

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