After spending the first two weeks of the season on the road, the Sul Ross State volleyball team makes its way back to the Pete P. Gallego Center to host St. Edward's to begin Lone Star Conference play on Friday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. CST.

The Lobos will then host St. Mary's at 2 p.m. CST on Saturday, Sept. 28.

>> PREVIEWING THE WEEK:

These are two of eight home matches for the Lobos this season.

St. Edward's comes in 8-3 overall, having won five of its last six games. The Hilltoppers were on a five-game winning streak before dropping a match to St. Mary's last weekend at the LSC Crossover in San Antonio, Texas.

The Hilltoppers have already been to three tournaments as they hosted the Hilltopper Classic going 3-1. St. Edward's then went 3-1 at Saint Leo University's tournament in Saint Leo, Fla.

Last week, St. Edward's went 2-1 at the LSC Crossover with four-set wins over Cameron University and Oklahoma Christian.

Freshman outside hitter Mia Clay is second in the conference with 139 kills.

This is the first meeting between both programs since 1988. The Hilltoppers are 3-1 against the Lobos having won the last three contests.

St. Mary's is also 8-3 overall after going 3-0 at the LSC Crossover last weekend.

The Rattlers went 3-1 at the Reddie-Tiger Invitational in Arkadelphia, Ark. to start the season. They then finished 2-2 at their own Rattler Invitational, which included a run in with No. 1 ranked Tampa.

St. Mary's is 3-1 versus Sul Ross State. Both programs played each other in 2023, which was the first meeting between both teams since 1993.

Junior libero Alyssa Koehl, the recipient of this week's LSC Defensive Player of the Week honor, leads the conference with 218 digs.

Senior right-side hitter Alicia Virthe ranks third in the LSC with 138 kills.

>> THE LOBOS:

• Natalie Hernandez leads the Lobos with 55 kills while Cassandra Espinoza is second with 47.
• Eliana Mata ranks sixth in program history for the most assists with 617.
• Mata leads the Lobos with 130 assists and 10 service aces.
• Miranda Acosta ranks second in service aces with eight.
• Edie Coleman leads the way on defense with three solo blocks, nine block assists and 12 total blocks.
• Sarah Chavez is second in total blocks with seven.
• Tatyana Colon is first on the team with 78 digs.

GAME DETAILS
WHO: St. Edward's vs. Sul Ross State
WHEN: 6 p.m. CST (Friday, Sept. 27)
WHERE: Pete P. Gallego Center (Highway 90 East)
TICKETS: https://srlobos.com/sports/2021/8/27/hometown-tickets-page.aspx
HOW TO WATCH: FloSports ($)
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast