SAN ANTONIO– UTSA volleyball hits the road for the second time in the first three weeks of 2019, heading to the Sooner State for the Tulsa Invitational Friday and Saturday.
For the second time in three weeks this season, the Roadrunners hit the road for a three-match two-day tournament. UTSA, Tulsa, Houston Baptist and SIU Edwardsville begin a round-robin event at 10 a.m. Friday.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Sept. 13
10 a.m. UTSA vs. SIUE
12 p.m. Houston Baptist at Tulsa
5 p.m. SIUE vs. Houston Baptist
7 p.m. UTSA at Tulsa
Saturday, Sept. 14
11 a.m. Houston Baptist vs. UTSA
1 p.m. SIUE at Tulsa
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Video Stream:(Tulsa matches only)
Live Stats
First Serve: UTSA ranks second in Conference USA with 12.64 assists per set, third in kills with 13.45 and 16.32 digs. Brianna McCulloch averages the second most kills per set in the league with 4.25 and fourth with 4.41 points. Hannah Lopez's 4.06 places her fourth, while freshman Courtney Walters' eight assists per set is the fifth-best average in the conference. Emily Ramirez sits in third with 4.55 digs per set and Madie McKay's 1.00 blocks is good for 10th.
Early Season Hardware: Bianca Ejesieme earned UTSA Classic All-Tournament honors after her performance last weekend. The Rowlett, Texas native recorded a .354 hitting percentage, converting 21 of her 48 attempts, committing just four miscues, while adding five digs and four blocks in the three matches.
Brianna McCulloch earned SMU Invitational All-Tournament Team Honors in the season opening SMU Invitational Aug. 30-31.
Last time out
In a match that featured 32 ties and 10 lead changes, UTSA dropped a tightly contested match 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 20-25, 22-25) against Maryland Saturday at the Convocation Center.
Hannah Roberts registered a team-high 13 kills for the Roadrunners and Kirby Smith posted her third double-double (11 kills, 10 digs) in six matches. Mia Perales and freshman Courtney Walters accounted for 41 of the team's 46 assists. Perales led the way with 21, while Walters extended her double-digit assist streak to six matches with 20.
Steady at the top
Head coach and San Antonio Sports Hall of Famer, Laura Neugebauer-Groff enters her 18th season with the Roadrunners with one of the youngest rosters in her illustrious 25-year coaching career. During her tenure at UTSA, her teams recorded at least 18 wins 12 times, including seven-consecutive 20-win seasons from 2010-2016. The Roadrunners return four starters from last season's squad, including Kirby Smith and Kara Teal, who both garnered 2018 All-Conference USA Second Team honors. Smith, C-USA's 2018 Freshman of the Year, earned a place on the 2019 C-USA Preseason Team.
Youth movement
Making up the 15-member Roadrunners roster includes 11 underclassmen, four of whom are true freshmen. Hunter Coppola, Bianca Ejesieme, Jenna Patton and Courtney Walters donned the blue and orange for the first time in their career at the SMU Invitational.
Scouting SIU-Edwardsville
The Cougars enter the weekend with a five-match winning streak after dropping the season opener against UC Riverside. During the stretch, they boast an impressive 15-4 record in 19 sets.
Rachel McDonald leads the offense with 39 kills, with 16 errors in 88 attempts, while Mallory Nicholson is the primary setter, recording 62 of the teams 125 assists, while owning eight of the Cougars' 20 service aces.
Scouting Tulsa
After a 3-1 win over Oral Roberts Wednesday, the Golden Hurricanes own 4-3 mark. They open their home schedule against Houston Baptist Friday, before wrapping up day one against the Roadrunners.
Dilara Gedikoglu owns 94 kills with 35 errors in a whopping 245 attempts and a team best six service aces. Mariah Pardo and Roosa Rautio share setter duties, tallying 104 and 127 assists.
Scouting Houston Baptist
The Huskies cooled off over their last four matches after beginning the season with three wins in four opportunities. Last weekend they were swept by Ole Miss and Tulane at the Tulane Invitational, before salvaging one win with a 3-0 victory over Missouri State. They have played one set over the minimum this season by winning or losing in three sets in seven of the eight contests, including six in succession. The lone set to go to a fourth set was a 3-1 victory for HBU over Radford Aug. 30.
