UTSA (9-6, 2-0 C-USA) at No. 21 Rice Owls (13-1, 2-0 C-USA)
6 p.m. | Oct. 4, 2019
Tudor FieldHouse | Houston, Texas
CUSA.TV | Live Stats
UTSA Roadrunners (9-6, 2-0 C-USA) at UTEP Miners (7-8, 0-2)
2 p.m. | Oct. 6, 2019
Memorial Gym | El Paso, Texas
CUSA.TV | Live Stats
FIRST SERVE
• This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season and 29th all-time meeting.
• Rice owns a 21-7 edge, including 13-3 at home, winning five consecutive contests.
• UTSA's last win in the series was Oct. 21, 2016, a sweep at home.
• The Roadrunners last claimed a victory in Houston Oct. 15, 2015.
• UTSA and UTEP meet for the 46th time Sunday and the second time in a week.
• The Roadrunners hold a slim edge at 24-21, including a 13-match winning streak.
• During the current winning streak, UTSA holds a 39-13 edge in games won with six sweeps.
SETTING THE SCENE
• UTSA and the Owls are two of three C-USA teams to open league play 2-0.
• The Roadrunners enter on a three-match winning streak, winning nine of 10 sets.
• Rice is on a four-match winning streak, including a 3-2 win over No. 3 Texas and three sweeps.
• UTEP opened league play with losses at Rice and at UTSA.
SCOUTING RICE
• The Owls garnered the top spot in the C-USA Preseason Poll, nabbing 11 of 13 first-place votes, while the Roadrunners finished fifth and the Miners placed 11th in the 13-team league.
• Rice hits .271, ranking second in the conference and hold opponents to a league low .153.
• They average the most assists (13.20) and kills (14.45), while their 17.76 assists ran second.
• Nicole Lennon garnered C-USA Preseason Player of the Year honors.
• Lennon earned C-USA Offensive Player of the Week each of the five weeks in 2019.
• Lennon's 5.54 kills per set lead the league and ranks fourth in the nation.
LAST MEETING
• Rice earned a sweep of the season series with a 3-0 victory in San Antonio Oct. 26, 2018.
• The Owls hit .194 (38-14-124), while UTSA posted a mark of .084 (37-25-143).
• Kara Teal tallied seven kills, while Brianna McCulloch, Hannah Lopez and Kirby Smith had six each.
• Emily Ramirez netted 10 digs and two aces.
• Nicole Lennon paced the Owls with 13 kills and added 15 digs.
• Carly Graham registered a double-double with 19 assists and 10 digs.
SCOUTING UTEP
• UTEP ranks third in C-USA in blocks (2.22) and fifth in aces (1.55) per set.
• The Miners are eighth in opponent hitting percentage at .199 and hit .190, 11th in the league.
• They are 12th in assists (10.47), kills (11.33) and last in digs (12.20) in the 13-team league.
• Irbe Lazda ranks fourth in the league in hitting (.406) and sixth with .38 aces per set.
• Alex Torres averages 3.75 digs, 10th most in C-USA.
LAST MEETING
• UTEP claimed a first-set victory, hitting .107, converting nine of 28 attacks with six errors.
• UTSA registered a .053 attacking percentage, with 11 kills and nine miscues on 38 attempts.
• The Roadrunners tallied 40 kills, 11 errors on 81 attacks (.358) the final three games, all wins.
• UTEP hit .035 (21-18-87) the final three sets, including -.034 (6-7-29) in the second.
• Overall, UTSA hit .261 (51-20-119) and the Miners finished at .052 (30-24-115).
• Kirby Smith recorded a career-high 17 kills, adding 13 digs for her eighth double-double.
• Mia Perales netted a double-double with 19 assists and 12 digs, with a career-high four aces.
• Emily Ramirez collected 13 digs and Kara Teal rejected a team-best four attacks.
• Mallory Yost paced UTEP with nine kills and two miscues on 14 attempts (.500).
• Syenna Masaki led the Miners with 13 helpers and Serena Patterson led the team with 10 digs.
- UTSA -
