| Sept. 28, 2005
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907 Roadrunners back in action with a pair of home SLC matches this weekend Live Audio | Live Stats | Complete Release SAN ANTONIO - The UTSA volleyball team hosts a pair of Southland Conference matches this weekend at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners (4-6, 1-2 SLC) face Nicholls State (0-4, 0-3 SLC) on Friday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m., and Southeastern Louisiana (4-7, 0-3 SLC) on Saturday, Oct. 1, at 4 p.m. UTSA Roadrunners (4-6, 1-2)
vs.
Nicholls State Lady Colonels (0-4, 0-3)
Friday, Sept. 30 • 7 p.m.
Convocation Center • San Antonio, Texas
UTSA Roadrunners (4-6, 1-2)
vs.
Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions (4-7, 0-3)
Saturday, Oct. 1 • 4 p.m.
Convocation Center • San Antonio, Texas Quick Hitters
• The Roadrunners lead the all-time series with both Nicholls State (16-9) and Southeastern Louisiana (9-5)
• UTSA is looking to avoid its first 1-3 conference start since 2003
• Junior Erin McMillan was named SLC Defensive Player of the Week
UTSA vs. Nicholls State Series History
UTSA leads, 16-9
Last Meeting: NSU def. UTSA, 3-0 (30-17, 30-27, 30-18)
Nov. 6, 2004 • Thibodaux, La.
Last UTSA win: Sept. 20, 2003 • Thibodaux (30-26, 33-31, 30-25)
UTSA vs. Southeastern Louisiana Series History
UTSA leads, 9-5
Last Meeting: SLU def. UTSA, 3-1 (23-30, 30-26, 30-26, 30-19)
Nov. 5, 2004 • Hammond, La.
Last UTSA win: Oct. 1, 2004 • San Antonio (30-22, 26-30, 30-26, 30-23)
Scouting Nicholls State
The Lady Colonels are still searching for their first win of the season as they come into Friday night’s match at 0-4 overall and 0-3 in the SLC. Nicholls State’s schedule has been altered several times due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as they have had 10 matches either cancelled or postponed in the first five weeks of the season. Preseason all-conference pick Atina Porter leads the Colonels’ attack with 3.08 kills per game, while KaLeigh Butler chips in with 2.31 kills and 0.92 blocks per game. Head coach Chris Laird is in his first season in Thibodaux.
Scouting Southeastern Louisiana
The Lady Lions are 4-7 overall and enter a Friday night match at Texas State with an 0-3 conference mark. Southeastern Louisiana is coming off a 30-19, 30-14, 30-26 sweep at the hands of McNeese State on Sept. 20 and has not won since a sweep of Jackson State on Sept. 13. Keri Hamblin leads the offense with 2.81 kills per game, while LaToya Anthony is the top blocker at 0.94 blocks per game. Head coach Roni Armeda-Hipp is 224-185 in her 12th season at the helm.
Last Time Out
UTSA fell in four games, 27-30, 19-30, 30-26, 12-30, at league leader Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 20. Junior Meagan Daniel posted her sixth double-double with 17 kills and 10 digs and junior DeeDee Strickland had her seventh double-double with 47 assists and 13 digs, but the Ladyjacks got 18 and 16 kills from Lauren Railey and Laura Cramer, respectively, and 37 digs from Stephanie Figgers in picking up their 10th win of the seaosn. Road matches at McNeese State and Lamar scheduled for last weekend were postponed indefinitely due to Hurricane Rita.
Closing In On 400
The UTSA volleyball program has amassed 395 wins in its 23-year history, an average of more than 17 victories per season. The Roadrunners are just five wins away from the 400th victory in school history.
Career Milestone
Fourth-year head coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff won her 300th career game with a 3-0 sweep of Delaware on Sept. 2. The former Texas All-American now owns a 303-122 overall record in 12 seasons. Groff posted a 256-62 (.805) record at St. Mary’s, a Division II school in San Antonio, before taking over as UTSA’s head coach in 2002.
Solid Start
With a sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sept. 6, UTSA improved to 3-1 on the season. That marks the program’s best start since also beginning the 1999 and 2000 seasons at 3-1. The Roadrunners also picked up victories over Delaware and Charlotte on Sept. 2-3 at the SpringHill Suites Invitational.
Honor Roll
Junior libero Erin McMillan has been named Aeropostale SLC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season. She shared the honor with Stephanie Figgers of Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 6 after posting 21 digs in a 3-0 sweep of Delaware and 23 in a five-game loss to Middle Tennessee State. McMillan received her second weekly accolade on Sept. 26 after turning in a season-high 25 digs against SFA on Sept. 20.
Daily Double
Juniors DeeDee Strickland and Meagan Daniel have made habits of turning in double-doubles. Strickland, a setter, has posted double-digit assists in all 10 matches and has reached 10 or more digs in seven of those. Daniel has reached double figures in kills and digs in six contests and is averaging a double-double with 13.1 kills and 10.4 digs per match.
Dig This
Erin McMillan has been one of the top back row players in the SLC the past two seasons and 2005 is no different. With 167 digs in 33 games, the two-time SLC Defensive Player of the Week ranks second in the league with 5.06 digs per game, just behind Stephanie Figgers of SFA (5.36 dpg). As a team, the Roadrunners are ranked second in the league and 24th nationally in digs per game (17.94). She has cruised up the school’s career digs chart to seventh place with 1,228 and is on track to move into third all-time with her third consecutive 500-dig season.
Daniel Delivers
A legitimate SLC Player of the Year candidate, Meagan Daniel has continued to impress as one of the league’s top all-around players. Whether it is on the attack (witness her team-high 131 kills) on defense (104 digs and 14 blocks) or with serve (16 aces), the Hereford native has an impact from just about anywhere on the floor. The only returning SLC player with two first-team all-conference selections in her portfolio, Daniel ranks in the league’s top 10 in three different categories — kills, aces and points.
Setting The Table
Junior DeeDee Strickland continues to prove herself as one of the top setters in the Southland Conference and in UTSA history. The League City native finished her sophomore campaign with 1,403 assists, an average of 12.09 per game which ranked third in the league. With nearly two years of eligibility left, Strickland already ranks third on UTSA’s career chart with 3,306 and needs 510 helpers to catch Deanna Bower for second place. Strickland posted 73 assists in a 3-1 victory over UTA on Sept. 16, two shy of her career high set in 2003. She ranks second in the SLC with 11.36 assists per game, close behind SFA’s J.J. Jones (12.02).
High-Percentage Hitter
Connie Picard, a junior middle blocker from Spring, has emerged as one of UTSA’s most consistent attackers over the past two seasons. After hitting just .208 as a freshman in 2003, Picard turned in a .252 hitting percentage last season with 351 kills and 144 errors on 823 total attacks. This season, Picard is attacking at a team-best .298 clip, a mark that ranks fourth in the league. In her first three conference matches, she is hitting .402, second in the SLC, with 42 kills and just nine errors. Also the team’s top net presence, Picard has registered 30 total blocks including a season-high seven block assists in a 3-1 loss to Rice on Sept. 10.
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