| Laura Neugebauer-Groff |
SAN ANTONIO ? Eleven home matches, three preseason tournaments and a full slate of 16 Southland Conference contests highlightthe 2008 UTSA volleyball schedule as announced by head coach LauraNeugebauer-Groff on Friday.
The Roadrunners will have their annual Alumni Match on Saturday, Aug. 23. The event, which kicks off at 10 a.m., will include a free youth clinic hosted by the coaches and players followed by the contest that pits this year's team against former players (click the link above this story for more information).
UTSA officially opens the season with threematches at the Mizuno Invitational at Rice University. The Roadrunners begin their26th season of play on Friday, Aug. 29, against tournament host Rice. The Birds then will square off against Michigan and Louisiana-Lafayettethe following day.
UTSA continues its season-opening six-match road swing the following weekend at the Baylor Classic in Waco. The Roadrunners open tournament action on Friday, Sept. 5, against Weber State and wrap up play the next day with matches against Baylor and San Diego State.
The home opener comes six days later when Southeastern Conference foe Georgia visits the Convocation Center for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
The Birds hit the road again from Sept. 12-13 when they travel to Chicago for the DePaul Invitational. UTSA squares off against DePaul on Friday, Sept. 12, before taking on Denver and Ball State the following day.
UTSA then returns to the Convocation Center for a four-match home stand. After hosting Texas-Pan American in a non-conference tilt on Wednesday,Sept. 17, the Roadrunners take a 10-day hiatus before opening the league slate on Friday, Sept. 26, against UT Arlington. I-35 rival Texas State, the defending SLC Tournament Champion, comes to the town the next day and the home stand ends on Tuesday, Sept. 30, when UTSA hosts Prairie View A&M.
The Roadrunners begin a season-long five-match road trip on Friday Oct 3, at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The swing continues the next day at Texas-Pan American and ends with three SLC matches at Lamar (Oct. 10), Sam Houston State (Oct. 11) and McNeese State (Oct. 15).
UTSA welcomes Stephen F. Austin for a home contest on Saturday, Oct. 18, before hitting the road once again the next weekend at Northwestern State (Oct. 23) and Central Arkansas (Oct. 25).
The Birds begin a five-match home stand on Thursday, Oct. 30, when Sam Houston State comes to town. Tilts against Lamar (Nov. 1), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Nov. 4), Nicholls State (Nov. 7) and Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 8) follow before UTSA concludes the regular season with road matches at Texas State (Nov. 13) and UT Arlington (Nov. 15).
Theannual SLC Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 21-23 in Nacogdoches. Eight teams will converge upon Johnson Coliseum forthe 27th annual event beginning on Friday, Nov. 21. The three-daytournament runs through Sunday, Nov. 23, and the winner will earn the circuit’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. The top two finishersin the East and West Division and the next four teams with the bestconference records (regardless of division) will qualify for thisyear’s event.