Texas State volleyball is set to begin its journey for one last chance to competeand become Sun Belt Conference regular season champions in its final year in the SBC, backed up by the motto “win the day,” head coach Sean Huiet said.
“Everyone’s going to be gunning for us, because it might be their last chance to play us. I think it adds a little pressure to us, but this group is up for the challenge,” Huiet said. “We haven’t talked too much about going to the Pac-12; our focus is on today.”
Preparation for the road to a conference title will begin with four pre-conference tournaments packed with a variety of competitors, including two top 25-ranked teams, No.6 Stanford and No.16 UCLA, during the Stanford Tournament from Sept. 19-21.
“We knew this group was ready for the challenge, and we knew the goals they set aside in the spring, and so we wanted to give them that challenge,” Huiet said. “We wanted to bulk up the early part of the season so we play some competition that gets us ready, not just to win the Sun Belt, but when we get to the NCAA Tournament.”
In 2024, the Bobcats hurdled through the season with a record of 22 wins and 9 losses, despite a schedule that put them on the road for 13 games straight at the start of the season. This year, the Bobcats will have a more balanced home and away schedule, providing a touch of extra comfort in comparison to last year.
While the 2024 season marked the end of the line for two veterans in the 2024 SBC — Setter of the Year, Ryann Torres, and libero Alyssa Ortega — the new year brings several fresh faces to the squad, including four freshman recruitsand three transfer players.
Regardless of a young roster on paper, this squad is far from rookie status afterhaving time to mesh during the spring, plus a unique opportunity to travel to Europe during the summer for a lineup of international matches.
“Our trip to Europe, I think…that really sets the tone for the season, because we got to train for 10 days while we’re here, and then we got to go over and play,” Huiet said. “So it’s been kind of easy — not easy going, but it’s beenlike, ‘hey, we’ve already done this, this isn’t a new team, we’ve all played together.’”
The 2025 squad is loaded with veteran power, with five players entering theirsenior season, including Samantha Wunsch, who has spent her entire college career on the maroon and gold court and seen the program grow to where it is today.
“Ryann and Alyssa are both incredible players and huge losses, but we’vegotten some new people, specifically, Alyssa Clark has really stepped into the Libero role,” Wunsch said. “[Torres and Ortega] did such a good job as seniors of setting the culture that their legacy is carried on through us now.”
The Bobcats will continue to build their team culture and work to achieve new goals while remembering their motto of the season, “win the day,” Wunsch said.
“Every time we step on the court, whether it be practice, treatment, a game, the conference championship, every single moment, we’re working to get 1% better every day,” Wunsch said. “The small goals are obviously winning every game, but that comes from winning the practice, winning the drill, winning the rehab, doing everything to your 100% to get the outcome that you want.”
The Bobcats will return to the hardwood for their official season opener on Aug. 30, against Stephen F. Austin as part of the UTSA Invitational, before returning to Strahan Arena for their first home matches of the year against Arizona State, University of Tulsa and University of the Incarnate Word during the Texas State Tournament, Sept. 11-13.
