SAN MARCOS, Texas – Sun Belt Conference action has officially arrived as the Texas State volleyball team (8-6) open the next phase of the season with a 6:30 p.m. match vs. Louisiana (4-9) Sept. 27 and closes the weekend with a noon bout vs. ULM (9-5) Sept. 29 at Strahan Arena.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
ESPN+ vs. Louisiana and ULM – PxP: Brant Freeman, Analyst: Mick Haley
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Live Stats vs. Louisiana - Statbroadcast
Live Stats vs. ULM - Statbroadcast
 
SETTING THE SCENE
• Texas State opens its Sun Belt Conference schedule at home after a tough outing at No. 2 Baylor where they fell in three sets to end a five-match winning streak. The Bobcats closed the non-conference schedule with an 8-6 record, including a 4-3 mark at home.
• The Maroon and Gold are currently on a three-match home winning streak after going 3-0 at the Creeds & Crests Classic (Sept. 19-21) with wins over UTSA (3-1), George Washington (3-0) and Sam Houston State (3-0).
• Since joining the Sun Belt Conference, Texas State has won five of its six conference openers. They also won their conference opener in its lone season with the Western Athletic Conference in 2012.
• In 2019, TXST averages 11.88 kills per set and hit .172 as a unit, ranking No. 9 in the Sun Belt Conference in both categories. The Bobcats are outhit by their opponents' .202 attack percentage and also averages 13.51 digs, 11.39 assists, 1.80 blocks and 1.39 aces per set. The Bobcats are ranked No. 4 in the west division of the conference.  
• Junior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the week after turning in 13 blocks to go along with 30 kills in 10 sets last weekend at the Creeds & Crests Classic. It was her first defensive plaudit and third overall league accolade after being named freshman of the week twice in 2017. Scott was also selected to the all-tournament team. The Houston native ranks No. 2 in the Sun Belt Conference with 1.08 blocks per set and sits at No. 5 in the league with a .329 hitting percentage behind 71 kills.
• In her most recent outing in Waco, senior outside hitter Cheyenne Huskey had five kills and four digs. Last weekend Huskey was tabbed MVP of the Creeds & Crests Classic where she totaled 32 kills and had eight aces to lead the Bobcats. She also recorded 2.70 digs per set and four blocks, and two assists. Huskey leads the team with 3.12 kills per set (No. 9 in the Sun Belt) and 22 aces in 2019.
• Sophomore setter Emily DeWalt directs the offense with 9.52 assists set (No. 5 in the Sun Belt) and has 2.08 digs per set, 30 kills, 15 blocks and 14 aces this year. She was also named to the Creeds & Classic All-Tournament Team last weekend and logged 18 assists and one ace vs. the nationally-ranked Lady Bears Tuesday night.
• Other key contributors for the Bobcats begins with sophomore middle Jillian Slaughter who has 70 total kills, 32 total blocks, and three aces, sophomore outside Janell Fitzgerald who averages 2.38 kills per set and has 28 blocks, and junior libero Brooke Johnson who leads the back row with 2.35 digs per set while adding 46 assists and five aces.
 
SCOUTING LOUISIANA
• Louisiana enters the Sun Belt Conference opening weekend with a league-worst six-match losing streak. They are 4-9 overall this season and are 0-2 on the road.
• Although the Ragin' Cajuns lead the league in digs per set (17.80) and are tied at No. 6 with the Bobcats with 1.80 blocks on average, they too are in the bottom half of the league with a .162 hitting percentage (10th), .200 opponent hitting percentage (T-8th), 11.89 kills (8th), 11.05 assists (10th), and are last in the league with 1.00 ace per set.
• Louisiana is fifth in the west division of the conference and looks to open league play with a win for the fourth consecutive season.
• Louisiana is coming off an 0-3 weekend at the Gators Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. They were swept by Northern Arizona, dropped a four-set match vs. Liberty and fell to then-ranked No. 11 Florida in straight sets.
• Junior setter Avery Breaux was selected to the all-tournament team after stringing together consecutive double-double performances to conclude the weekend. Breaux leads the offense with 5.95 assists per set and has 3.02 digs per set, 13 total kills and eight aces.
• Junior outside hitter Hali Wisnoskie it the team's top hitter with 2.39 kills per set and adds 2.82 digs on average, 16 blocks, 12 assists and five aces. Fellow outsides hitters in freshman Celeste Darling and sophomore Kelsey Bennett follow with 2.29 kills and 2.23 kills per set, respectively.
• Senior middle Dree'Ana Abram and sophomore middle Tia Jade Smith are tied for a team-high 33 blocks. Abram leads the team with nine aces and Smith's efficient .340 hitting percentage is tops on the team. Junior libero Hanna Ramirez leads the defense with 4.57 digs per set.
 
SCOUTING ULM
• ULM enters the weekend on a two-match winning streak and has a 9-5 record that ranks No. 3 in the west division.
• The Warhawks are 2-3 on the road this season and hopes to put an end to their three-match skid after starting 2-0 as the visiting team. In each of the three road losses, ULM has not been able to win a set, suffering straight set losses at Lamar (Sept. 7), Louisiana Tech (Sept. 14) and McNeese (Sept. 20). ULM will challenge UT Arlington Sept. 27 before playing Texas State Sept. 29.
• In their non-conference schedule to this point, ULM has been pretty solid offensively with a .229 hitting percentage (No. 4 in the Sun Belt) and 1.69 aces per set which stands at No. 2 in the league. They also average 12.43kills and 11.57 assists per set. Both marks are fifth in the Sun Belt. Defensively ULM holds its opponents to a .163 clip thanks to 15.51 digs per set (both No. 4 in the league) but struggles to establish a block at 1.78 blocks per set.
• Senior outside hitter Mikaela Worley's 3.47 kills per set lead the team and rank No. 5 in the Sun Belt. She also averages 2.26 digs per set and has 22 kills and two aces this season. Sophomore outside Kate Blasingame has 3.10 kills per set this season and leads the team with 18 aces. Blasingame also contributes 3.17 digs per set, 13 assists and nine blocks to her season totals.
• Junior outside Ina Gosen and freshman middle blocker Hailey Hughes both have 28 total blocks entering the weekend although Gosen has a team-high 10 solo blocks and has 69 kills. Sophomore McKinley Thiede and freshman Darby Fisher share setter duties, averaging 5.56 assists and 4.47 assists per set, respectively. Senior DS Albany Schaffer leads the Warhawks' defensive unit with 3.73 digs per set.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• The Bobcats have a combined 61-3 record vs. this weekend's field (17-1 vs. LA, 44-2 vs. ULM) and have a combined 30-0 mark all-time when playing at home. They are also on an 17-match winning streak in the all-time series with four straight wins over Louisiana and 13 vs. ULM.
• Texas State swept Louisiana last year in the season series, including a 3-2 win at home Oct. 26, 2018 where the Bobcats rallied back after being down 0-2 in the match.
• The Bobcats have swept the Warhawks in every sense of the word in recent history after recording back-to-back season sweeps in 2017-18 and have registered five consecutive matches that resulted in a sweep. TXST's last set loss vs. ULM was Oct. 29, 2016.
 
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