SAN MARCOS, TX — With a sense of eagerness and determination as a result of the 2021 season, the Texas State volleyball program returns to the floor for a match against a team other than itself for the first time in 278 days.
The Bobcats, which concluded the 2021 campaign with its sixth straight season with 20-or-more wins, will open their 2022 regular season with the Cardinal Classic, hosted by UIW, this weekend. For Texas State, play begins at 4:30 p.m. CT on Friday, Aug. 26 against Houston Baptist, before playing two matches (12 p.m. CT; 7 p.m. CT) against UIW on Saturday, Aug. 27.
SERIES HISTORY: HOUSTON BAPTIST, UIW
- Saturday's two-game tilt against UIW will mark the first match for Texas State against the Cardinals since September 1, 2018, when the Bobcats won in three sets: 25-19, 25-19, 25-20. This weekend's doubleheader will mark the first recorded* road match for Texas State against UIW in series history. *Records do not indicate whether matches during the 1970 and 1971 were in San Marcos or San Antonio.
- Texas State holds an 8-1 all-time record against UIW, but have only met twice — Sept. 12, 2014, and Sept. 1, 2018 — in the last 40 years.
- Texas State enters Friday afternoon's match against Houston Baptist with a 4-1 all-time record against the Huskies with the most recent match — a four-set win by the Bobcats (25-17, 25-20, 25-27, 25-16) — on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. This weekend's match will mark the first recorded* neutral-site match between the two programs since four of the five previous matches having occurred in San Marcos. *Records do no indicate the location of a match during the 1971 season.
LAST SEASON
The fall portion of Texas State's 2021 volleyball schedule rewarded the Bobcats with an appearance in its fifth consecutive Sun Belt Conference tournament title match after the then-three-time defending conference champions opened postseason play with back-to-back three-set wins over Troy and Coastal Carolina.
Sean Huiet became the second-fastest head coach in Texas State volleyball program history to win 50-or-more games at the helm of the Bobcats. With a three-set win over Troy to begin the 2021 Sun Belt Championship on Nov. 19, 2021, Huiet, in just his second season, reached the milestone in just 70 games. Only Susan Duke (1970-72) accomplished the feat faster when she did so in only 63 matches.
In 2021,
Emily DeWalt became the first Texas State volleyball student-athlete to earn the Sun Belt Conference's Player of the Year honor when the senior setter was chosen for the award by the league's head coaches. She also picked up her fourth consecutive Sun Belt Setter of the Year award last year.
Janell Fitzgerald, who was selected as the league's offensive player of the year during the preseason, was chosen as the Sun Belt's Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the first-ever Texas State student-athlete to pick up the award.
LOOKING FOR MORE
The Texas State volleyball program enters the 2022 season looking to pick up right where it left off a year ago. Dating back to Oct. 7, 2021, the Bobcats have won 14 of their last 15 matches and 18 of their last 21 when going back to Sept. 17, 2021.
NEWCOMERS
The 2022 Texas State volleyball team will feature seven newcomers to the program.
Samantha Wunsch,
Maggie Walsh,
Olivia Adair,
Alyssa Clark,
Bailey Hanner and
Jade Defraeye represent the team's freshmen class, while
Alyssa Ortega comes to San Marcos as a sophomore after spending her freshman season as a member of the Stephen F. Austin volleyball program.
DOUBLE DIGITS
Under
Sean Huiet, who is entering his third season at the helm of the program, the Texas State volleyball program has won 10-or-more straight games each of the last two seasons.
Throughout the fall portion of its 2020 season, Texas State won 17 consecutive matches from Sept. 19 to Nov. 13. And last season, the Bobcats ended the 2021 regular season on a 12-match winning streak before extending the streak by two with two victories to open the 2021 Sun Belt Championship. It marks the first time the Texas State volleyball program has had seasons with back-to-back winning streaks of 10-or-more games since 2017 (10) and 2018 (16).
FOLLOW US
For the latest information on the team, follow @TexasStateVball on Twitter, @TxStateVolleyball on Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can also be at @TxStateBobcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
