TXST (18-6/10-2) vs Troy (16-8/10-2)
6:00 start Friday, ESPN+ broadcast here: link, Livestats here: link
:00 start Saturday, ESPN+ broadcast here: link, Livestats here: link
Troy being in the mix at the top of the table was not something I had on my 2022 SBC VB Bingo Card, but they were definitely the next team up, so it's not exactly out of nowhere. This has been a 1-sided series with the Bobcats winning all 15 matches - 14 of those since joining the SBC.
Troy has played a very similar schedule to TXST - of their 6 OOC losses, 5 of them are to P5 programs. In SBC play, they really struggled w/ ULL, winning in 5 and then getting swept...at home. They also lost to USM in 5 before sweeping them on the road. Swept USA at home last weekend 3-2, 3-1, so they're up for the fight.
Little more offensive balance than some of the squads we've played recently, but #10 is clearly their best player w/ 463.5pts so far (by comparison, Fitz is @ 391.5) and she's doing it at 5'9"!!! That's ridiculous! #7 has 325pts @ 6'1" and #1 has 301.5 @ 5'11". Really impressed w/ those numbers from sub-6' players.
In order of scoring: 5'9", 6'1", 5'11", 6'1", 6'1", 6' (S)
Nice to have a solid opponents going into the tournament. This weekend is for 1st place in the West and next week we play Coastal. Tons of potential seeding movement. FWIW, the SBC Tournament is seeded by Division, not Overall, but overall conference record is the primary, with division record being the 1st tiebreak.
6:00 start Friday, ESPN+ broadcast here: link, Livestats here: link
:00 start Saturday, ESPN+ broadcast here: link, Livestats here: link
Troy being in the mix at the top of the table was not something I had on my 2022 SBC VB Bingo Card, but they were definitely the next team up, so it's not exactly out of nowhere. This has been a 1-sided series with the Bobcats winning all 15 matches - 14 of those since joining the SBC.
Troy has played a very similar schedule to TXST - of their 6 OOC losses, 5 of them are to P5 programs. In SBC play, they really struggled w/ ULL, winning in 5 and then getting swept...at home. They also lost to USM in 5 before sweeping them on the road. Swept USA at home last weekend 3-2, 3-1, so they're up for the fight.
Little more offensive balance than some of the squads we've played recently, but #10 is clearly their best player w/ 463.5pts so far (by comparison, Fitz is @ 391.5) and she's doing it at 5'9"!!! That's ridiculous! #7 has 325pts @ 6'1" and #1 has 301.5 @ 5'11". Really impressed w/ those numbers from sub-6' players.
In order of scoring: 5'9", 6'1", 5'11", 6'1", 6'1", 6' (S)
Nice to have a solid opponents going into the tournament. This weekend is for 1st place in the West and next week we play Coastal. Tons of potential seeding movement. FWIW, the SBC Tournament is seeded by Division, not Overall, but overall conference record is the primary, with division record being the 1st tiebreak.