SAN MARCOS, Texas – No. 11 Texas State (20-2, 15-1 Sun Belt) has claimed the top seed in the West Division at the 2020 Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Nov. 18-22 at the Foley Event Center in Foley, Ala. The tournament will begin with pool play with the Bobcats being grouped with the No. 6 seed in the West Division, ULM (1-20, 0-16 Sun Belt) and the No. 4 seed in the East Division, South Alabama (7-13, 7-9 Sun Belt). The entire tournament will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
The Bobcats who headline Pool C, will matchup against ULM at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18 and will conclude pool play at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20. The winner of each pool will compete in the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 21. The winner of Pool C will face the winner of Pool B in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21. Pool B is made up of the No. 2 seed in the East Division in Troy, the No. 3 seed in the West Division in UT Arlington, and the No. 5 seed in the East Division in Georgia Southern.
 
The Bobcats are coming off their only loss in conference play in the regular-season finale vs. UT Arlington on Saturday, Nov. 14. TXST who looks to bounce back from its loss, is a perfect 10-0 this season when playing on the road. The Bobcats lead the league with 14.42 kills per set and 13.51 assists per set, and rank No. 2 in the conference with a .249 hitting percentage and hold their opponents to a .145 hitting percentage. The Maroon and Gold also ranks No. 4 with 2.19 blocks per set, No. 5 with 17.19 digs per set, and No. 9 with 1.19 aces per set.
 
Junior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald leads the Bobcats with 3.86 kills per set (No. 5 in the Sun Belt) behind a .351 hitting percentage (No. 2 in the Sun Belt). In both of those categories, Fitzgerald ranks No. 25 in the NCAA. Fitzgerald also ranks second on the team with 0.84 blocks per set, although she leads the team with 18 solo blocks. Senior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott leads the Bobcats with 0.90 blocks per set (62 total) and ranks No. 3 in the Sun Belt with a .344 hitting percentage. Junior setter Emily DeWalt is the conference leader with 11.46 assists per set and has registered 3.38 digs per set, 62 kills behind a .314 hitting percentage, and 11 aces. DeWalt is No. 5 on the program's all-time career assists list with 3,337 career assists entering the tournament. Junior libero Kayla Granado anchors the defense with 4.16 digs per set (320 total digs), ranking No. 10 in the conference. Granado also has 15 aces this season, although senior setter Brooke Johnson leads the team with 20 total aces. Johnson ranks No. 6 in the conference with 0.34 aces per set and sophomore defensive specialist Michelle Foster ranks No. 10 with 0.32 aces per set (16 total aces).
 
SCOUTING ULM
After winning its season opener, ULM has gone on to drop its last 20 matches entering the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Warhawks rank No. 6 in the Sun Belt with 16.64 digs per set, but sit last in the league in hitting percentage (.086), assists (9.39), kills per set (10.17), blocks per set (1.44), aces per set (0.96), and opponent hitting percentage (.234).
 
Senior outside hitter Haley Coulter leads the team with 2.40 kills per set and 19 aces. She also adds 3.76 digs per set. Sophomore libero Madeline Hogan anchors the defense with 4.43 digs per set. Junior setter McKinley Thiede averages 5.06 assists per set and freshman setter Karson Davis averages 4.88 assists per set. Senior middle blocker Catherine Griffith leads the team with 32 blocks (0.55 blocks per set).
 
SCOUTING SOUTH ALABAMA
South Alabama limps into the tournament on a five-match losing streak and finished the regular season with a 7-9 record in Sun Belt action. Statistically, the Jaguars are a good serving team ranking fourth in the conference with 1.37 aces per set and hold opponents to a .173 hitting percentage, ranking No. 6. They are towards the bottom of the league however, with a .156 hitting percentage (No. 8), 10.61 kills per set (No. 10), 13.62 digs per set (No. 10), 9.54 assists per set (No. 11), and 1.81 blocks per set (No. 11).
 
Freshman middle blocker Rebecca Walk leads the Sun Belt Conference with a .381 hitting percentage and is also the team leader in blocks with 0.76 per set (54 total). Sophomore outside hitter Hannah Maddux is the leading hitter with 2.68 kills per set and adds 39 total blocks and 20 aces to her statistics. Sophomore setter Maddie Soboleski ranks No. 5 in the Sun Belt with 8.15 assists per set, and No. 8 in the conference with 0.33 aces per set (25 total). Finally, junior libero Rachel Hickey leads the defense with 4.41 digs per set, a mark that is No. 8 in the Sun Belt.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Texas State opened its Sun Belt Conference schedule with a three-match sweep vs. ULM on Sept. 25-26. The Bobcats have won 18 consecutive matches against the Warhawks which is their longest active in-conference winning streak. TXST is 49-2 all-time against ULM.
 
Texas State will face South Alabama for the first time this season on Friday. The Bobcats are 9-2 all-time vs. the Jaguars and have won six of the last seven meetings. Texas State is currently on a two-match winning streak in the all-time series.  
 
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