SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State (19-8, 11-2 Sun Belt) returns to Strahan Arena for the remainder of the 2019 regular-season and will open the Homecoming/Alumni Weekend at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 8 vs. Little Rock (6-18, 4-8 Sun Belt) before the highly anticipated White Out Match at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 vs. Arkansas State (14-10, 5-7 Sun Belt). The Bobcats will welcome former Bobcat volleyball alumni all weekend and will have a special presentation Nov. 9 for the 2009 Southland Conference Championship team before the first serve.  
 
FOLLOW ALONG
ESPN+ vs. Little Rock – PxP: Brant Freeman, Analyst: Mick Haley
Live Stats vs. Little Rock - Statbroadcast
Live Stats vs. Arkansas State - Statbroadcast
 
SETTING THE SCENE
• Texas State enters the weekend with a 20-match win streak in conference matches played at Strahan Arena.
• Despite splitting last weekend, the Bobcats still lead the Sun Belt Conference with an 11-2 record and have the opportunity to clinch a share of the regular-season title with two wins this weekend. The Bobcats are 10-3 at home this season, including a 6-0 mark in conference matches.
• The Bobcats dipped in the latest RPI rankings but still leads the Sun Belt at No. 43. Texas State ranks in the top 50 in all of Division I volleyball in team aces (154, No. 25), opponent hitting percentage (.168, No. 35), team assists (1,148, No. 50), and team kills (1,235, No. 50).   
• In conference-only matches, the Bobcats lead the league in hitting percentage (.282) and opponent hitting percentage (.133), and rank No. 2 in kills (13.60/set), blocks (2.27/set), and aces (1.97/set). They are No. 3 with 12.29 assists and No. 5 with 15.25 digs per set.
• Senior outside hitter Cheyenne Huskey's 3.52 kills per set (No. 4 in the Sun Belt) and 0.46 aces per set (No. 3 in the Sun Belt; 44 total) leads the team. She also adds 2.25 digs per set and has 54 total blocks. Huskey's 44 total aces rank No. 14 in all of Division I volleyball.
• Sophomore outside Janell Fitzgerald is second on the team with 2.97 kills per set and a .297 hitting percentage (No. 8 in the Sun Belt). She also has 51 total blocks this year. Fitzgerald is third in the conference with a .361 hitting percentage in conference-only matches and ranks seventh with 3.34 kills per set.
• Junior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott leads the team with a .316 hitting percentage (No. 5 in the Sun Belt) and 1.09 blocks per set in 2019 (No. 3 in the Sun Belt). Scott has 163 total kills and a team-high 11 solo blocks.
• Sophomore setter Emily DeWalt averages 10.07 assists per set which sits fourth in the Sun Belt and ranks No. 16 in all of DI volleyball with 967 total assists. She also breaks the top 10 of the conference with 0.35 aces per set (T-No. 7; 34 total). DeWalt adds 2.41 digs per set, 58 kills, and 36 blocks to her season total.
• Sophomore middle Jillian Slaughter has 122 total kills and has a .265 hitting percentage. She also adds 70 blocks (eight solos), and three aces. Slaughter missed the Louisiana match last weekend and will be out this weekend due to a concussion.
• Junior libero Brooke Johnson leads the club with 2.62 digs per set and has 74 assists and 16 aces this season, while senior DS Micah Dinwiddie has 2.07 digs per set and 12 aces in 2019. Dinwiddie is the program's all-time leader in career digs.
 
SCOUTING LITTLE ROCK
• Little Rock turned in its first weekend sweep in conference play (Nov. 1-2) and extended its winning streak to three after defeating Georgia State (3-2) and Georgia Southern (3-0) at the Jack Stephens Center. Their winning streak ended on Tuesday night, however, when they were swept by Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Ark.  
• The Trojans average 1.09 aces per set that ranks No. 10 in the Sun Belt and No. 11 with 13.58 digs per set. Otherwise, the Trojans are last in all other categories including hitting percentage (.137), opponent hitting percentage (.237), assists (9.42/set), kills (9.90/set), and blocks (1.58/set).
• Senior middle hitter Carol Barbosa leads the team with 3.51 kills per set (No. 5 in the Sun Belt). She also adds 2.43 digs per set, 34 total blocks, and 10 aces this season. Barbosa is this week's Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week and was joined by outside hitter Janae Thurston who won the leagues Freshman of the week award.
• Sophomore outside Laura Jansen is the other attacking threat for LR, averaging 2.37 kills per set and has a team-high 17 aces. Janson has also logged 2.42 digs per set and 24 total blocks this year.
• A two-setter system is led by sophomore Nathalia Vigineski's 4.64 assists, followed by freshman Alyssa Nayar's 4.23 assists per set. Vigineski has 14 kills and 13 aces, while Nayer has 18 kills and 15 aces.
• Freshman middle blocker Madison Nichols leads LR with 58 total blocks and contributes 70 kills to the team.
• Senior libero Diana Giordani paces the defense with 4.18 digs per set (No. 7 in the Sun Belt) and also has 81 total assists and 14 aces this season.    
 
SCOUTING ARKANSAS STATE
• Arkansas State enters the weekend with a 5-7 record in the Sun Belt that features a 2-3 mark on the road. After defeating Texas State earlier in October, A-State have a 4-5 record, including a three-match losing streak they just ended after a Tuesday night win vs. Little Rock.
• The Red Wolves are a solid defensive unit that is tied at No. 2 in the Sun Belt with a .169 opponent hitting percentage. They also rank No. 2 with 15.87 digs per set and No. 3 with 2.10 blocks per set. Offensively, Arkansas State averages 12.82 kills per set (No. 4 in the Sun Belt), 11.58 assists per set (No. 6 in the Sun Belt) and hit .195 (No. 6 in the Sun Belt).
• Sophomore outside hitter Macey Putt leads the pack with 2.90 kills per set and has 2.15 digs per set, 31 blocks, 21 assists and 18 aces. Junior outside Peyton Uhlenhake follows with 2.63 kills per set, 2.57 digs per set, 23 aces and 20 blocks.  
• Sophomore setter Julianna Cramer directs the offense with 5.34 assists per set to lead the team. She also has 29 kills and nine aces this year.
• Freshman setter Malgorzata Andersohn has 4.38 assists per set and matches sophomore libero Hannah Cox's 25 aces for a team-high. Cox ranks No. 10 in the league with 3.79 digs per set.  
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Texas State is 10-5 all-time vs. Little Rock and are on a six-match winning streak, including the sweep earlier this season. In that match, DeWalt distributed the ball to a number of hitters and finished the match with 29 assists and 11 digs. Fitzgerald and freshman outside Lauren Teske led the Bobcats with eight kills apiece, and eight total players registered kills in the match.
• The Bobcats look to even the all-time series at 10 after dropping a five-set decision in Jonesboro, Ark. Oct. 4. In that loss, Huskey led the hitters with 15 kills and added two aces, while DeWalt put up a double-double with 39 assists and 14 digs. TXST has won the last five matches played vs. A-State in San Marcos.     
 
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