SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State's head volleyball coach Sean Huiet released the 2021 schedule Monday morning. The slate will have 29 matches, including 10 played at Strahan Arena.
 
The Bobcats will challenge at least seven Power Five conference programs, including the season opener against the reigning 2020 NCAA Division I volleyball National Champions, Kentucky. TXST will face five programs that competed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament, including Dayton, Ohio State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and NCAA Final Four participants in Kentucky and Texas.
 
"We are really excited about the schedule we put together for this season," said coach Huiet. "This group has high expectations and they want to do something Texas State Volleyball has never done before, so we presented them with a schedule that can help prepare us for that. Our opening weekend in Dayton should be a fun one. We get to open the 2021 season with perennial NCAA tournament teams and Kenedi Rutherford will get to play against her younger sister who plays for Kentucky."
 
The 2021 season will begin at the Dayton Invitational Aug. 27-28 in Dayton, Ohio where The Bobcats will open the tournament with a match against Kentucky and Cincinnati on Aug. 27 before facing tournament host Dayton on Aug. 28.
 
Texas State will then participate in the Red Raider Classic in Lubbock, Texas to play against Texas Tech Sept. 3, followed by a pair of matches against Ohio State and Rhode Island, respectively, on Sept. 4. The Bobcats' seven-match road trip to start the season will conclude with a contest at Texas on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.
 
The Maroon and Gold will have its home opener on the third weekend of the regular season when they host the Bobcat Invitational Sept. 10-11 with matches against Alabama (11 a.m.) and Miami (6:30 p.m.) on Friday, Sept. 10. Alabama and Miami will play each other at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11 to conclude the tournament. Following the tournament, the Bobcats will host Texas A&M on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at Strahan Arena to end their home non-conference schedule.
 
The Bobcats' will wrap-up their non-conference schedule Sept. 16-17 at the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Tournament at the Dugon Wellness Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Bobcats will open the tournament against A&M-Corpus Christi at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 16, and finish the weekend with matches against UTEP and Tarleton State at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively on Friday, Sept. 17.
 
The Sun Belt Conference schedule will be comprised of 16 matches highlighted by seven home matches. Overall, the conference lineup will be home-and-home matches against all teams in the west division (Arkansas State, Little Rock, Louisiana, ULM, UT Arlington) and will play one match against teams in the East Division. All conference matches are scheduled to be played at 6 p.m. with the exception of a home match against Arkansas State at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 7.
 
The Bobcats open league play on the road against Troy on Sept. 24 in Troy, Ala., and South Alabama on Sept. 25 in Mobile, Ala. TXST will then return home to Strahan Arena for three consecutive matches against ULM (Oct. 1), Louisiana (Oct. 2), and UT Arlington (Oct. 7). Texas State will then open a three-match road trip with a match at UT Arlington on Saturday, Oct. 9 at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. The next weekend TXST will head to Arkansas to take on Little Rock on Friday, Oct. 15 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Ark., followed by a match at Arkansas State on Saturday, Oct. 16 at the First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro, Ark.
 
Texas State will host a cross-conference showdown against the 2020 Sun Belt Conference regular-season champions Coastal Carolina on Friday, Sept. 22 before ending the weekend with a match against Appalachian State on Saturday, Sept. 23 in San Marcos, Texas.  
 
Four of the final six matches for the Bobcats will be played on the road starting with a match at Georgia Southern on Friday, Oct. 29 at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga., followed by a tilt at Georgia State on Saturday, Oct. 30 at the GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, Ga. The Cats will play their final home matches against Little Rock on Friday, Nov. 5 and will have senior night against Arkansas State on Sunday, Nov. 7. The regular season will conclude with matches at ULM on Friday, Nov. 12 at the Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, La. and at Louisiana on Saturday, Nov. 13 at the Earl K. Long Gym in Lafayette, La.
 
The 2021 Sun Belt Conference Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 19-22 and will be held at the Foley Event Center in Foley, Ala.
 
"We know the Sun Belt is going to be better than ever," said coach Huiet. "The conference just keeps getting better every year. Our team knows how good the conference is going to be and they know we have a target on our backs. The thing I love about this group is they enjoy that and use that to motivate them daily. The coaching staff is anxious to get back in the gym and start preparing for our 2021 season."
 
Texas State is the reigning Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions and logged a 31-9 overall record, including a 15-1 conference mark. The Bobcats reached the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season and won their second NCAA Tournament match with a four-set decision over Utah Valley before falling to No. 4 Nebraska in the second round.
 
Texas State will return most of its 2020 roster headlined by three-time Sun Belt Conference Setter of the Year, senior Emily DeWalt, and All-Sun Belt selections in senior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald (first-team), senior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott (first-team), and junior outside hitter Lauren Teske (second-team). The team will have three total newcomers, including Maryland graduate transfer Jada Gardner (outside hitter) and a pair of true freshmen in Logan Leroux (setter) and Jacqueline Lee (defensive specialist).
 
SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
Season tickets for another exciting season of Bobcat Volleyball in San Marcos will go on sale on Wednesday, July 21. Season tickets will be $60 with a discounted rate of $50 for Bobcat Club, T-Association, and TXST Faculty and Staff members. The 2021 season package will be highlighted with matches versus Alabama, Miami, and Texas A&M.  Please contact the ticket office at 512-245-2272 with any questions regarding season tickets, single tickets, or group opportunities for another season in Strahan Arena.
 
 
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