NEW ORLEANS – The 39th season of Sun Belt volleyball begins this week as each of the conference’s 12 teams will play their first league match of the year on either Thursday or Friday. 

In a preseason vote of the league’s head coaches, Coastal Carolina was picked to win its third consecutive Sun Belt Eastern Division title, while Texas State was selected to win the Sun Belt Western Division crown for the fifth consecutive year. The Chanticleers are looking for their second consecutive regular-season title, while the Bobcats are aiming for their fourth consecutive Sun Belt Tournament Championship in 2021. 

Each of the Sun Belt’s volleyball teams will play a 16-game regular-season league schedule. The 2021 Sun Belt volleyball season culminates at the Sun Belt Volleyball Championship to be contested November 18-21 at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, Ala. This will mark the second consecutive year the event will be held in Foley. 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• NATIONAL LEADERS – Arkansas State leads the nation in total digs this season with 899. The Red Wolves also are ninth nationally in total kills this year with 663. Senior outside hitter Macey Putt is second nationally in total points with 257.5, while junior libero Tatum Ticknor is sixth in the nation in total digs with 254. 
• WIN STREAKS – Little Rock is on a league-best six-match winning streak entering conference play. Among the strong wins on the Trojans’ schedule this season are an historic victory at Southeastern Conference foe Arkansas and two wins against Louisiana Tech. 
• POWER-5 PARTY CRASHERS – In non-conference competition, Troy has racked up a program-best three victories against Power 5 Competition. The Trojans have a win against Virginia Tech, marking the school’s first win against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent since 2013. Troy has also defeated Southeastern Conference teams Alabama and LSU. It marked the program’s first wins against an SEC opponent in 25 years. Prior to this season, Troy had beaten only one Power 5 program in a single year. 
• STRONG START – Georgia Southern enters conference play with a 7-3 record, marking their best non-conference tally since 2013. Senior setter Madison Brown recently became the seventh Eagle to surpass 2,500 assists for her career and she ranks sixth on the program’s all-time career list. 

HOW TO FOLLOW
 

Date	Game	Time (CT)	Links
Thursday, Sept. 23	Georgia State at ULM	6:00 p.m.	Stats
Friday, Sept. 24	Little Rock at Coastal Carolina	5:00 p.m.	ESPN+ Stats
Friday, Sept. 24	Arkansas State at App State	5:30 p.m.	ESPN+ Stats
Friday, Sept. 24	Georgia State at Louisiana	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+ Stats
Friday, Sept. 24	Texas State at Troy	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+ Stats
Friday, Sept. 24	UTA at South Alabama	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+ Stats
Friday, Sept. 24	Georgia Southern at ULM	6:00 p.m.	Stats
Saturday, Sept. 25	UTA at Troy	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+ Stats
Saturday, Sept. 25	Texas State at South Alabama	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+ Stats
Saturday, Sept. 25	Georgia Southern at Louisiana	6:00 p.m.	ESPN+ Stats
Sunday, Sept. 26	Arkansas State at Coastal Carolina	11:00 a.m.	Stats
Sunday, Sept. 26	Little Rock at App State	11:30 a.m.	ESPN+ Stats