SAN MARCOS, Texas – A new era for Texas State Volleyball begins on Friday as the Bobcats welcome the Oklahoma Sooners and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns to Strahan Arena for their season opener.
The Bobcats' match against the Sooners will be Friday, Aug. 28, at 6 p.m. CT and the match against the Ragin' Cajuns will be on Sunday, Aug. 30, at 1 p.m. CT.
AT THE MATCH
- Texas State Match Tickets
- Friday, 8/28 vs. Oklahoma (6 p.m. CT)
- Home Opener
- T-shirt giveaway courtesy of Christus Health
- Sunday, 8/30 vs. Louisiana (1 p.m. CT)
GAME INFO
ABOUT THE BOBCATS
- Texas State was picked to finish third in the PAC-12 Preseason Predicted Order of Finish, voted on by the conference's coaches.
- The Bobcats finished third in the West Division in the Sun Belt Conference in 2025 after finishing 17-12 overall and 11-5 in Sun Belt play.
- Of the eight returners for 2026, Brooke Bentke leads the charge with 109 kills on a .173 hitting clip. Bentke finished the 2025 season with a rate of 1.12 kills per set and totaled 13 service aces. A six-rotation player for the Bobcats, the senior helped on the back row with 175 digs and a .950 serve reception percentage. At the net, Bentke totaled 25 blocks.
- At the setter position, both Anna Blaine and Dylan Gilkey are expected to trade sets throughout the season. Blaine finished the 2025 season with 829 assists at a rate of 7.27 assists per set and Gilkey finished with 319 at 5.60 assists per set. Blaine also helped out on the back row with 168 digs and 19 service aces. At the net, the junior finished the year with 24 total blocks.
- Eight are returning to the court for the 2025 season, but Head Coach Sean Huiet and the coaching staff also brought in four transfers in India Bennett, Camryn Kimes, Peyton McKee, and Jasmine Purakal. Bennett is a fifth-year from Southeastern Louisiana that comes to Texas State after being named All-Southland Conference First Team. The fifth-year also posted 10 matches with double-digit kills and tallied 138 total blocks, finishing with the seventh-best block per set rate in the nation at 1.50.
- Purakal joins the Bobcats after spending the previous season at Robert Morris where she was named the Horizon League Libero of the Year. The fifth-year finished with the sixth-most digs in the country at 582 and posted double-digit digs in 27 of the 29 matches she played in.
- McKee comes from Missouri State where she led the Bears on offense with 292 kills with a .242 hitting percentage and a rate of 2.98 kills per set. Kimes played at Louisiana-Monroe for the last two seasons and totaled 269 digs at a rate of 2.38 digs per set.
- The last four newcomers of the 2026 recruiting class are freshmen Karis Carpenter, Izzy Scholvin, Emma Elsasser, and Janet Onuorah.
ABOUT THE SOONERS
- The Sooners finished the 2025 season with a 16-11 overall record and a 7-8 record in SEC play. OU also finished with an RPI ranking of 67 compared to Texas State's 45.
- Oklahoma's squad is comprised of 15 total players. The Sooners return five including Tekoa Barnes who was fifth on the team in kills in 2025 at 91. The remaining 10 are all new to the team that are made up of eight transfers and two freshmen.
- Barnes leads the returners at 91 kills, 28 service aces, 32 digs, and 24 total blocks. Anchoring the offense is Avaya Maga who led the Sooners' with 750 assists and anchored the back row with 171 digs.
ABOUT THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
- The Ragin' Cajuns finished with a 15-11 overall record and a 7-9 mark in Sun Belt play. Louisiana finished sixth in the west division.
- Louisiana's roster is comprised of 17 players, 14 of which are returners. The remaining three are transfers. The Ragin' Cajuns have no true freshmen.
- In 2025, Louisiana had five players with over 100 total kills. In 2026, three of those five are returning. Leading the way for the returners is outside hitter Grace Sweeney who finished with 200 kills on .169 efficiency. Marlee Ervin and Jazmine Gaston also return for the Ragin' Cajun offense with 190 and 158 kills, respectively. Ryleigh Garis will once again anchor Louisiana's offense after totaling 564 assists while Kennedy Gustafson will hold down the back row after recording 392 digs in 2025.
SERIES INFORMATION
- The Bobcats are 31-29-1 all-time in season openers and 38-107-1 all-time against SEC opponents.
- Oklahoma
- Against the Sooners, the Bobcats are 0-4-1 all-time. The last meeting between the two squads was on Oct. 22, 1993 when the Sooners defeated the Bobcats, 2-3.
- Louisiana
- A familiar foe, Texas State is 29-5 all-time when playing against the Ragin' Cajuns. The Bobcats most recently played Louisiana Sept. 26-27 and split the matches, 1-1.
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