NEW ORLEANS – The fourth week of Sun Belt volleyball action will feature 12 divisional matches. Arkansas State will travel to Georgia Southern in a key cross divisional matchup as 13 of the 14 matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
 

• PATHS CROSSING – Georgia Southern, who currently leads the East Division standings, will play host to Arkansas State, who is tied atop the West Division standings. The Eagles showcase an impressive 8-0 mark at home, while the Red Wolves are just 2-3 on the road. In the Eastern Division, James Madison will play host to App State, with both teams entering the matchup with a 5-1 mark in league play. The Dukes are the only other team in the league to be undefeated at home at a 7-0 clip. The Mountaineers are currently 4-3 in road matches heading into the matchup.

 

• CLASH OF THE TITANS – The Eastern Division clash between James Madison and App State features prolific offenses and defenses. On the national stage, the Mountaineers currently rank No. 1 in the country in total kills at 1,096. On the other side of the net, the Dukes remain No. 1 nationally in team total blocks at 215 and are also No. 1 in blocks per set at 3.26. The Mountaineers rank No. 2 nationally in team assists at 979, one off the national lead from Iowa at 980. Despite the team lead in kills, James Madison’s Kennedy Louisell continues to lead the conference in total kills with 309, a mark which ranks fifth nationally. Both Ayen Nhial and Anna Wilson from JMU continue to rank in the top 10 in total blocks as Nhial (No. 5) has 99 and Wilson (No. 8) has tallied 96. App State’s MeMe Davis ranks No. 2 with 396 digs entering the matchup as her teammate Reagan Richardson ranks No. 4 in total assists with 774.

 

• NATIONAL STAGE – James Madison leads the nation in blocks per set and is currently second in total blocks, but the league features numerous top 25 national rankings. App State currently ranks No. 3 in team kills with 926 and is fifth in team assists with 835. Southern Miss ranks No. 17 in aces per set at 2.02 as Troy joins the Golden Eagles inside the top 25 at No. 20 with a 2.00 average. Georgia Southern ranks No. 20 in assists per set at a 12.95 average as the Eagles also rank No. 18 in digs per set at a 16.14 mark. The Eagles are also No. 14 nationally in kills per set at a 14.13 average as Louisiana joins App State in team assists at No. 14 with 793. Following the Dukes in total team blocks, Louisiana ranks No. 9 with 163 as App State ranks No. 11 with 162. Individually, James Madison’s Kennedy Louisell has again placed herself in the national spotlight as she now leads the league in kills, kills per set and service aces. She ranks No. 13 nationally in aces per set at 0.62, No. 12 in kills per set at 4.54, No. 14 in points at 284, No. 6 in points per set at 5.46, No. 18 in service aces with 32 and No. 25 in total kills at 236. App State’s MeMe Davis ranks No. 3 nationally in total digs at 350 as Georgia Southern’s Maddie Cugino ranks No. 8 in digs per set at 5.02. App State’s Raegan Richardson ranks No. 6 in total assists as Georgia State’s Akira Burt joins Louisell inside the top 25 in total kills.

 

• WINNING WAYS – Seven teams in the league enter the weekend on active win streaks with Troy leading the way on a four-match win streak. Louisiana also enters the weekend on a three-match winning streak as Arkansas State and Coastal Carolina were the only other teams to sweep league action last week. Southern Miss, Marshall and Georgia Southern all closed out the previous week with a victory in the series finale to have a one match win streak heading into the fourth weekend of league action.

 
 WHERE TO WATCH
 

Date	Time	Matchup	Broadcast
Thurs. Oct. 15	5:00 p.m.	App State at James Madison	ESPN+
Thurs. Oct. 15	6:00 p.m.	Southern Miss at ULM	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 16	5:00 p.m.	App State at James Madison	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 16	5:00 p.m.	Old Dominion at Georgia State	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 16	5:00 p.m.	Arkansas State at Georgia Southern	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 16	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana at South Alabama	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 16	6:00 p.m.	Troy at Louisiana Tech	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 16	6:00 p.m.	Southern Miss at ULM	ESPN+
Sat. Oct. 17	12:00 p.m.	Arkansas State at Georgia Southern	ESPN+
Sat. Oct. 17	1:00 p.m.	Louisiana at South Alabama	ESPN+
Sat. Oct. 17	1:00 p.m.	Troy at Louisiana Tech	ESPN+
Sat. Oct. 17	1:00 p.m.	Marshall at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Sat. Oct. 17	1:00 p.m.	Old Dominion at Georgia State	ESPN+
Sun. Oct. 18	1:00 p.m.	Marshall at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+

All Times CT