NEW ORLEANS – The second week of Sun Belt volleyball action will feature 12 divisional matches. App State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Southern Miss and ULM are undefeated at home heading into the league matchups as 12 of the 14 matches to be broadcast on ESPN+.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
 

• BLOCK PARTY – Six teams in the league rank inside the top 100 nationally in blocks per set, as James Madison continues to pace the country with a staggering 3.59. Georgia State will host the Dukes as they rank No. 47 at 2.50 with Arkansas State just behind the Panthers at No. 51 at 2.49. Georgia Southern ranks No. 69 at 2.39 as Louisiana ranks No. 70 at 2.38. Rounding out the top 100 is App State at 83 with a 2.33 average. James Madison also leads the country overall at 158 total blocks as App State ranks fifth nationally at 149. Louisiana joins the Dukes and Mountaineers inside the top ten at No. 8 with 143 blocks on the year. Individually, James Madison’s Anna Wilson and Ayen Nhial continue to rank inside the top ten in blocks per set. Wilson ranks No. 3 at 1.73 blocks per set as Nhial ranks No. 8 at 1.55. Wilson also ranks seventh nationally in total blocks at 76 as Louisiana’s Emily Williams ranks No. 16 with 69 on the year.  

 

• HOME COURT – Five teams in the league that are hosting matchups for the week are currently undefeated at home. App State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Southern Miss and ULM all enter the weekend series unblemished at home. Georgia Southern leads the league with a 9-1 record over its last ten matches as the Eagles are 6-0 at home. App State and Georgia State are each currently 2-0 on the year at home to round out the East Division. In the West, Southern Miss leads the way with a 4-0 record at home as ULM is the only other team in the division to remain unbeaten at home with a 3-0 showing.

 

• WINNING WAYS – Half the league enters the weekend on a win streak, as Georgia Southern paces the grouping with a six-game active win streak. James Madison follows closely behind with a five match win streak as Marshall has won four consecutive matches. Southern Miss has won three in a row as the Golden Eagles are 8-2 in their last ten matches. Both App State and Arkansas State swept the opening weekend of league play to ride a two game win streak as Louisiana closed out last weekend on top.

 

• DIG IT – Six teams in the league rank inside the top 100 in digs per set, as the league has established itself as a defensive heavy battleground. Southern Miss leads the way at 15.91 digs per set to rank No. 18. They are joined inside the top 40 by Georgia Southern (No. 21, 15.84), ULM (No. 30, 15.53), Arkansas State (No. 35, 15.40), and Louisiana Tech (No. 38, 15.35). Marshall closes out the rankings at No. 91 with a 14.50 showing. Georgia Southern’s Maddie Cugino, who won Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors after the opening weekend of league play, leads the league nationally in digs per set at 4.84. Cugino ranks No. 14 nationally as Louisiana Techn’s Riley Steubing is averaging 4.76 which ranks No. 17 overall. Joining the duo inside the top 20 is MeMe Davis from App State, who ranks No. 18 at 4.75 digs per set. Davis ranks No. 2 nationally in total digs at 304 as Steubing (No. 15, 257) and Cugino (No. 26, 242) join her inside the top 20.

 
 WHERE TO WATCH
 

Date	Time	Matchup	Broadcast
Thurs. Oct. 1	5:00 p.m.	James Madison at Georgia State	ESPN+
Thurs. Sept. 1	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech at South Alabama	ESPN+
Thurs. Sept. 1	6:00 p.m.	Arkansas State at Louisiana	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 2	5:00 p.m.	James Madison at Georgia State	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 2	5:00 p.m.	Old Dominion at Georgia Southern	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 2	5:00 p.m.	Coastal Carolina at App State	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 2	6:00 p.m.	Troy at Southern Miss	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 2	6:00 p.m.	Marshall at ULM	ESPN+
Fri. Oct. 2	6:00 p.m.	Arkansas State at Louisiana
Sat. Oct. 3	12:00 p.m.	Old Dominion at Georgia Southern	ESPN+
Sat. Oct. 3	12:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech at South Alabama
Sat. Oct. 3	1:00 p.m.	Marshall at ULM	ESPN+
Sat. Oct. 3	1:00 p.m.	Coastal Carolina at App State	ESPN+
Sat. Oct. 3	4:00 p.m.	Troy at Southern Miss	ESPN+

All Times CT