SAN ANTONIO– UTSA volleyball kicks off the 2019 home slate with the UTSA Classic, presnted by Courtyard by Marriott at The Rim, Friday and Saturday at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners welcome Houston, UTRGV and Maryland to the Alamo City.
Tournament Schedule:
Friday
12 p.m. Houston at UTSA
4 p.m. Maryland vs. UTRGV
Saturday
10 a.m. UTRGV at UTSA
12:30 p.m. Maryland vs. Houston
5 p.m. Houston vs. UTRGV
7:30 p.m. Maryland at UTSA
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First Serve:
Brianna McCulloch earned SMU Invitational All-Tournament Team Honors last week, after recording 54 kills in 123 attempts, posting a .325 attacking percentage. Courtney Walters registered her first career double-double with 41 assists and 11 digs in the opener against Stephen F. Austin. Kirby Smith, who earned the 2018 Conference USA Freshman of the Year honor, added 14 digs and 12 assists in the same contests.
Last time out:
Sophomore Hannah Lopez's double-double (24 kills, 14 digs) and match-high 25 points propelled UTSA past Bradley in four sets (17-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-16) at Moody Coliseum Saturday.
The Roadrunners (1-2) stormed back from a 1-0 deficit by taking the final three sets to secure the 3-1 triumph over the Braves (0-3).
Senior Brianna McCulloch and freshman Hunter Coppola joined Lopez in double-digit kills with 11 each. Sophomore Mia Perales (28) and freshman Courtney Walters (19) combined for 47 of UTSA's 60 assists.
Senior Emily Ramirez and sophomore Lydia Niebla joined Lopez with at least 10 digs, setting career highs for both. Ramirez paced the Roadrunners with 27 and Niebla collected 10.
Team Notes:
Senior Emily Ramirez recorded at least 15 digs in each of the first three matches, with 20 against Stephen F. Austin, 15 against SMU and 27 against Bradley.
Sophomore Mia Perales registered double-digit assists in back-to-back matches with 14 against SMU and 28 in the win over Bradley. She ranks 10thin C-USA at 6.86 assists per set.
Freshman Courtney Walters leads the team with 78 assists, posting marks of 41, 18 and 19 in her first three collegiate contests. Her 13.00 average per set is the most in the league, while the 4.33 digs per set places her in fifth.
Sophomore Kirby Smith followed up her 14-dig performance in the opener with 13 against SMU.
Freshman Hunter Coppola smashed 11 kills in the win over Bradley.
Sophomore Hannah Lopez boasts a 5.36 scoring average, ranking second among all league qualifiers.
UTSA leads Conference USA with 13.36 assists per set and 18.64 digs per set, while the 14.00 kills per set ranks fourth after one weekend of action.
Scouting Houston:
Houston earned a road victory in four sets Tuesday, improving to 1-4 on the season. The Cougars started the season winless through their first four matches, dropping matches to Arizona State (1-3), Texas A&M Corpus Christi (0-3), UT Arlington (2-3) and LSU (1-3) at the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup in Houston August 30-31.
Abbie Jackson leads the squad with 64 kills in 165 attempts. Abby Irvine averages a team best 9.47 assists per set, recording 180 in 19 sets played, while Katie Karbo leads the defense with 83 digs.
Scouting UTRGV:
The defending Western Athletic Conference Champions return 10 players off last year's team that went 22-9 overall and 13-3 in the league. The Vaqueros posted a 9-3 mark on the road in 2018. They enter the second weekend with a 3-1 mark, including a three-match winning streak. UTRGV dropped its season opener in straight sets to Radford at the Barcelona Sports Invitational in Houston on August 30, before wrapping up the weekend with a 3-1 victory over Bethune-Cookman and a sweep of Houston Baptist.
Barbar Silva and Veronida Jandova pace the offense, registering hitting percentages over at .410 and .400, respectively. Debora Nazario owns 82 percent of the team's assists, recording 156 of 192, averaging 10.4 per contest. The defense boasts six players with at least two digs per set, including team leader, Samaret Carabello, who has 56 of the teams 231.
Scouting Maryland:
This is the first-ever meeting between the Terps and Roadrunners. Maryland claimed victories over Austin Peay (3-0) and Kansas State (3-2) at the Wolfpack Invitational in Raleigh, North Carolina August 31. Howard forced the Terps to a fifth set in College Park, Maryland Monday. After falling behind 1-0 and 2-1, the Bison recorded a 25-21 result in the fourth set, before the Terps secured the match with a 15-9 decision in the deciding game.
Erika Pritchard paces the offense with 61.5 points, converting 54 of her 123 attacks (.358), both are best on the Terps squad. Samantha Synder (68), Taylor Smith (43) and Allegra Rivas (24) share the setting duties, accounting for 135 of the teams 140 assists. On defense, Rivas (45), Pritchard (31) and Snyder (23) anchor the defense, digging out attacks from the opposition.
- UTSA -
