SAN ANTONIO – UTSA embarks on its third road trip of the season when the Roadrunners head to San Marcos for a trio of matches at the Creeds & Crests Volleyball Classic, hosted by Texas State on Thursday and Friday.
The Roadrunners match up against the Bobcats at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to start the tournament. Play continues at 1 p.m. the following day against SMU before concluding with a 5 p.m. match against Houston Baptist. All matches with be played at the Strahan Coliseum and will be streamed live for a fee on the Texas State website.
Schedule
Match 6: vs. Texas State | Live Stats | Live Stream
Match 7: vs. SMU | Live Stats | Live Stream
Match 8: vs. Houston Baptist | Live Stats | Live Stream
The Roadrunners (0-5) gained a lot of experience at the Diet Coke Classic last weekend against Tennessee, West Virginia and new No. 1-ranked Minnesota. UTSA last all three matches in the classic, but sophomore outside hitter Brianna McCulloch had a stellar performance as an all-around player, racking up 52 kills, 24 digs, three blocks and one service ace.
UTSA also received solid showings from junior Amanda Gonzales and seniors Marijeta Runjic and Megan Slan. Gonzales paced the Roadrunners with 121 assists while adding in 16 digs, two kills and two block assists. Runjic added depth to the Roadrunner offense with 36 kills while Slan delivered 20. The seniors also contributed defensively as Runjic totaled 17 digs and Slan registered a team-best nine blocks (1 solo/ 8 assists).
Overall, the Roadrunners concluded the weekend with 154 digs, 133 kills, 129 assists, 17 blocks and 13 service aces in two games.
Texas State Scouting Report
Series: Thursday's match will mark the 69th meeting between the old conference foes. The Bobcats are currently 4-2 with wins over Sam Houston State, Western Michigan, Cincinnati and Xavier.
Bobcat Notables
Texas State returns nine players of its 2016 squad that went 21-12 overall and 13-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. Leading the veterans is Megan Porter, who has registered a team-best 79 kills, 75 digs, nine assists and five service aces in six contests.
Scouting SMU
Series: UTSA is 3-7 all-time against the Mustangs, winning the last neutral site match between the two on Sept. 16, 2011, in four sets. The teams last met on Sept. 19, 2015 in SMU's Moody Coliseum, where the Mustangs claimed a 3-1 victory.
Mustang Notables
SMU is 3-3 on the season, seizing victories over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Ole Miss and Arkansas State. Lauren Mills leads the team with 78 kills, followed by Brittany Adams with 61 and Katie Hegarty at 44. The Mustangs are hitting .230 as a team, while their opponents are averaging .221.
Scouting Houston Baptist
Series: UTSA leads the all-time series against the Huskies at 5-2. The Roadrunners have claimed the last two meetings with back-to-back sweeps in 2012 and 2013.
Husky Notables
Despite Hurricane Harvey canceling three games from their opening classic, Houston Baptist began the 2017 season with a 5-0 streak. Most recently, the Huskies swept Louisiana's Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic, where they defeated Mississippi Valley State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Jacksonville State. Guiding HBU is Bailey Banks with 64 kills, 54 digs, 11 service aces and four assists.
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