SAN ANTONIO – UTSA will host a trio of opponents as a part of the UTSA Invitational presented by Courtyard Marriott this weekend in the Roadrunners' first home action of the 2022 year.
The Roadrunners (1-5) will take on McNeese State (1-6), USF (4-2) and UT Arlington (2-4) in the home-opening UTSA Invitational Sept. 9-10. UTSA meets McNeese State Sept. 9 at 12:30 p.m. and follows that up with a nightcap later that day against USF at 7 p.m. The Roadrunners wrap up the tournament with UT Arlington on Sept. 10 at 2 p.m. All matches featuring UTSA will be streamed on CUSA.tv.
For the Friday night matchup against South Florida, all fans are encouraged to wear orange as the game is an orange out.
Leading the Roadrunners
Five different Roadrunners have appeared in all 21 sets so far for UTSA. Among those five players is newcomer Cansu Günaydin who is leading the way for the UTSA offense. The Rutgers transfer has 62 kills to her name through six matches of play and is averaging 2.95 kills per set.
Not far behind Günaydin is junior middle blocker Amanda Ifeanyi who has tallied 57 points for the Roadrunners through six games of play. Ifeanyi enters the weekend tournament after a super productive weekend at the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic. Ifeanyi was named to the all-tournament team and was UTSA's most consistent threat throughout the tournament.
Senior setter Courtney Walters continues to set the table for her teammates, as the McKinney, Texas native has 132 assists on the season. Her 132 assists are almost three times as many as the next closest Roadrunner.
On the defensive side of the ball, Mia Ybarra leads UTSA with 83 digs on the year, averaging 3.95 digs per set. Ybarra also leads the team in aces, as the San Antonio native has seven to her name.
Ifeanyi and Alicia Coppedge have been stalwarts on the front line, as the two middle blockers are the only two on the team with double-digit blocks. Ifeanyi leads the squad with 14 total blocks (4 solo, 10 assists) and Coppedge has tallied 13 total blocks (2 solo, 11 assists).
Scouting the competition
UTSA's first opponent of the tournament, McNeese State, is a familiar opponent for the Roadrunners, as UTSA has already beaten the Cowgirls earlier this year. Not only that, but McNeese State has two former Roadrunners on its roster in Skyeler Embry and Mia Perales. The Cowgirls are 1-6 and earned their lone win against Tulsa in the SFA Invitational.
The USF Bulls are 4-2 on the season with both of their losses coming to teams that were receiving votes (Ball State and South Alabama). The Bulls enter the UTSA Invitational coming off a weekend tournament that saw USF claim first place. The Bulls swept the field at the Stony Brook Invite, downing Georgetown, Maryland and Stony Brook.
The last team in the tournament field is a fellow school from the University of Texas system, UT Arlington. The Mavericks are 2-4 on the year and have wins over Texas A&M-Commerce and Providence.
Series history
UTSA is 25-18 all-time against McNeese State, with most of those contests coming from when the two programs were conference mates in the Southland. The two teams met earlier this season as a part of the Crimson Tide Invitational where UTSA defeated the Cowgirls 3-1.
As for the USF Bulls, UTSA will meet the Tampa team for the first time in program history.
The Roadrunners are 18-28 against UT Arlington and the two Texas schools will be meeting for the first time since 2019. The Mavericks won the last match in 2019, 3-2. UTSA and UT Arlington will play in San Antonio for the first time since 2012.
Up next
UTSA will be back in action next weekend when it hosts its second straight tournament, the Roadrunner Classic presented by Courtyard Marriott. The event is scheduled to take place across two days, beginning on Sept. 16 and ending the following day, Sept. 17. The tournament will feature three other schools besides UTSA. The remaining field includes Houston Baptist, Valparaiso and UIW. UTSA will begin tournament play on Friday against HBU at 12:30 p.m. and conclude the opening day with Valparaiso in the nightcap action which starts at 7 p.m. The Roadrunners will then play UIW on Saturday at 2 p.m. to wrap up the UTSA Invitational. Each game featuring UTSA will be streamed on CUSA.tv.
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