FOLEY, Alabama — Texas State Volleyball will head to Foley, Alabama for the start of the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Bobcats will face James Madison to open the tournament on Nov. 22.

MATCH INFO:
Nov. 22 | vs James Madison
11 AM (CT) | Foley, Alabama
TV: ESPN+ 


Series History
Texas State leads the all-time series 6-4, having won both matches in the 2024 regular season.

Texas State last lost to James Madison in the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Tournament and in both their meetings during the regular season in 2023.

History in the Sun Belt Tournament
The Bobcats have won four Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championships in program history. The Bobcats won the tournament in 2013, 2018, 2019 and 2020. 
 
In the 2023 season the Bobcats lost to James Madison in the semi-final game of the tournament. The Bobcats have made an appearance in the final every season between 2017 and 2022, winning three championships and being runner-up three times in the six years. Since joining the conference in 2013, the only years the Bobcats were not in the Sun Belt Championship was 2015, 2016 and 2023. Texas State hopes to make its return to the Sun Belt Championship this season.

All-Conference Awards
The Bobcats have won seven Sun Belt Conference weekly awards this season. Ryann Torres won three Setter of the Week awards (week 5, 10 and 12), Sam Wunsch won Offensive Player of the Week (Week 4, 9), Jade Defraeye won Defensive Player of the Week (Week 6) and Alyssa Ortega also won Defensive Player of the Week (Week 10).
 
Torres also won Sun Belt Conference 2024 Setter of the Year and was named first-team all-conference for the second time in her career. Wunsch and Defraeye were also named Sun Belt First Team All-Conference.
 
About Texas State
The Bobcats finished the regular season with a 19-8 record on the season, having gone 13-3 in Sun Belt play. The Bobcats are coming off two wins over James Madison in the final week of the regular season and are on an eight-game win streak.
 
Sam Wunsch leads the Bobcats this season with 358 kills, followed by freshman MJ McCurdy with 284. Those two lead the offense while Alyssa Ortega and Jade Defraeye handle the defense. Ortega is leading with 398 digs while Defraeye has 116.0 blocks. Setting the attack is Sun Belt Setter of the Year Ryann Torres who has 944 assists this season.
 
Head coach Sean Huiet is in his fifth year in charge of the program and boasts a 114-46 record in his career with a 68-12 record in Sun Belt play. 
 
About James Madison
James Madison comes into the week as the 3rd seed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Standings with a 6-10 record in conference play and an 11-17 record this season. They come into the week on a two-game losing streak after dropping matches to Texas State to end the regular season.
 
Leading the attack for the Dukes is Brenya Reid who has 322 kills, and Annie Smith with 232. Setting their attack is Rebecca Watkins and Jordan Smart with 516 and 395 assists, respectively. Defensive duties are controlled by Annie Smith with 104.0 blocks and Jaydyn Clemmer with 380 digs.

James Madison is led by 15th year head coach Lauren Streinbrecher who has a 273-144 record in her time at the helm of the Dukes.

Up Next:
The Bobcats would move to play whoever wins match four of the Sun Belt Tournament which will be whoever wins the matchup between App State and Match 1. Match one is between Troy and Georgia State. The semifinal the Bobcats would advance to is Nov. 23 at 2 pm.

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