Roadrunners set for conference openers at Lamar, McNeese State

Sept. 16, 2004
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907 

Roadrunners set for conference openers at Lamar, McNeese State

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SAN ANTONIO - Coming off a 2-2 showing at the UTSA Roadrunner Invitational last weekend, the UTSA volleyball team opens Southland Conference play on the road this week with matches at Lamar and McNeese State. The Roadrunners (2-6) meet Lamar (6-3, 0-1) on Friday, Sept. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas, and face McNeese State (6-2, 1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 18, at 4 p.m. in Lake Charles, La. McNeese opened the league slate with a thrilling, five-game victory at Lamar on Tuesday night, coming back from losing the first two games, 28-30 and 22-30, to sweep three straight, 30-28, 33-31, 15-11.

UTSA Roadrunners (2-6, 0-0)
at
Lamar Lady Cardinals (6-3, 0-1)

Friday, Sept. 17
Montagne Center (10,080) • Beaumont, Texas

UTSA Roadrunners (2-6, 0-0)
at
McNeese State Cowgirls (6-2, 1-0)

Saturday, Sept. 18
Memorial Gym (1,500) • Lake Charles, La.
NOTE: McNeese State plays Texas State Friday in Lake Charles 

UTSA vs. Lamar History
Series Record: Lamar leads, 22-13
Last meeting: Nov. 14, 2003 - San Antonio, Texas
   UTSA won, 3-0 (30-18, 30-23, 30-22)

UTSA vs. McNeese State History
Series Record: tied 15-15
Last meeting: Nov. 15, 2003 - San Antonio, Texas
   UTSA won, 3-1 (22-30, 30-24, 30-20, 30-18)

Scouting Lamar
The Lady Cardinals are 6-3 overall in 2004 and are coming off a five-game loss to McNeese State in the Southland Conference opener for both teams on Tuesday night in Beaumont. Lamar won the first two games, 30-28, 30-22, but the Cowgirls roared back to win three straight, 30-28, 33-31, 15-11, to clinch the match. The Lady Cardinals had won six consecutive matches after opening the season with a 3-1 loss to Mercer at the City Hotel & Bistro Pirate Invitational in Greenville, N.C., on Sept. 3. Lamar head coach Fiona Bolten-Simmons is in her second year with the program after going 10-21 and 3-7 (SLC) in 2003. The Lady Cardinals are led offensively by freshman Molli Abel and junior transfer Erica Brown, a pair of outside hitters who have posted 137 (4.03/game) and 132 (3.88/game) kills, respectively. Junior setter Chelsea Johnson has 391 assists (11.50/game) and sophomore middle blocker Buchi Okoh is averaging 0.97 blocks per game (11 solo/22 assists).

Scouting McNeese State
The Cowgirls are 6-2 overall and 1-0 in the SLC after winning a thrilling, five-game match at Lamar Tuesday night. The Lady Cardinals won the first two games, 30-28, 30-22, but McNeese State rallied to take the next three, 30-28, 33-31, 15-11, to clinch the match. Under the direction of first-year head coach Dale Starr, the Cowgirls have won four of five matches dating back to a 3-0 loss at Texas A&M on Sept. 3. Junior Trisha Seale leads the attack with 113 kills (3.53/gm), while senior Nicole James has posted 92 kills (3.07/gm). Sophomore setter Courtney Ellisor has registered 235 assists (9.79/gm) and freshman Lindsey Petzold averages 0.91 blocks per game (one solo/28 assists). Freshman Jessica Strama pitches in with 4.91 digs per game (157 total).

Week-In-Review
UTSA split four matches at the UTSA Roadrunner Invitational last weekend in San Antonio. The Roadrunners got their first win of the season with a 3-0 (30-16, 30-25, 30-20) sweep of Drake on Friday before falling to Rice in three games for the second time in three days, 21-30, 26-30, 22-30. On Saturday, UTSA took care of Prairie View A&M, 30-15, 30-15, 30-21, but dropped a thrilling, five-gamer to Iowa State in the second-place match, 16-30, 25-30, 30-28, 30-24, 8-15. Sophomore libero Erin McMillan was voted to the all-tournament team after leading all players in digs (63). Junior Jennifer Emelogu posted 13 blocks and 35 kills, while sophomores Brittany Hildebrand and Meagan Daniel turned in 48 and 40 kills, respectively. Sophomore setter DeeDee Strickland recorded 154 assists (11.0/game) and Daniel and sophomore Connie Picard added seven and six aces, respectively. As a team, UTSA hit .206 to a .165 average for its opponents on the weekend, racking up 194 kills in the process.

Record Watch
A pair of sophomores are on their way up the UTSA career charts. Meagan Daniel entered 2004 with 1,508 total attacks, the school single-season record, and already has added 277 to that through the first eight matches to increase her total to 1,785 which ranks 10th. Daniel needs 583 total attacks to catch Jennifer Sharp (2,368) for ninth place. The school record is 4,914 set by Stacy Schmidt in 1998-2001. DeeDee Strickland posted 1,494 assists as a freshman, the third-best season on UTSA record, and has added 290 this year to up her total to 1,784 which ranks fifth all-time. Strickland needs 976 assists to tie Tobi Irish (2,760) for fourth place. Natasha Biggers holds the UTSA record with 5,440 set in 1997-2000.

UTSA In The Conference Stats
Here is a breakdown of where UTSA ranks as a team in the latest Southland Conference statistics:

Roadrunners In The Conference Stats
A pair of Roadrunners rank in the latest Southland Conference statistical top 10: 

Head Coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff
Laura Neugebauer-Groff enters her third season at the helm of the UTSA volleyball program. She came to UTSA in 2002 after a successful eight-year career at St. Mary’s, a Division II school in San Antonio, where she compiled a 256-62 record. Following a tough 8-24 debut season as the Roadrunners’ coach in 2002, Neugebauer-Groff orchestrated a remarkable turnaround in 2003, guiding an extremely young squad to a 19-14 record and an appearance in the SLC Tournament semifinals. A standout player, Neugebauer-Groff was an All-American at Texas in the mid-1980s and was named to the Southwest Conference All-Decade Team in 1992. In 2002, the San Antonio Express-News tabbed her as one of its most influential people in women’s sports. She also was a member of the National Sports Festival in 1983 and the World University Games in 1985. She played professionally for the West German Volleyball League before joining the Chicago Breeze pro team in 1988. She has been an annual participant in the U.S. Volleyball Association National Tournament since 1987. She began her coaching career at Hondo High School in 1988-90 and was an assistant coach at Texas A&M in 1990-92. She graduated from Texas in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and received her master’s in educational leadership from St. Mary’s in 1996. Neugebauer-Groff and her husband, Dwayne, have two children, Jacob (5) and Madison (3). 

UTSA To Host 2005 NCAA Volleyball Championship
UTSA will host the 2005 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship on Dec. 15-17 at the Alamodome. UTSA has been the host institution for many NCAA Championship events including the Men’s Basketball Final Four in 1998 and 2004 and the 2002 Women’s Basketball Final Four. The 2004 NCAA Volleyball Championship will be hosted by Long Beach State on Dec. 16-18 in Long Beach, Calif.