SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA volleyball team is headed for Birmingham, Alabama, where they'll face off against UAB in an American Athletic Conference bout at 7 p.m. inside Bartow Arena.
The Roadrunners (15-13, 8-9 AAC) suffered a pair of defeats last time out, falling to Wichita State in back-to-back contests at Charles Koch Arena.
Sophomore Mia Soerensen paced the 'Runners in kills with 21 on the weekend, executing at a .219 clip. She logged 11 blocks for 27 total points against the Shockers. Additionally, Soerensen continues to lead the Roadrunner in terminations, with 311 on the year for an average of 3.17 per set.
Defensively, senior Aliah Giroux led the American Athletic Conference in digs per set, averaging 6.29 and recording 44 in just seven frames. Giroux has now logged 437 digs across the 2023 campaign, and her average of 4.41 digs per set ranks second in the conference.
As a team, UTSA is the league leader in aces per set at 1.80 and blocks per set at 2.50. Individually, sophomore Caroline Krueger has been the squad's top server with 0.38 aces per set, and senior Alicia Coppedge boasts the most blocks with 1.19 per set.
Similarly, the Blazers (4-25, 2-15 AAC) dropped two contests against Temple on the road last week and have had rough luck in AAC play, with lone wins coming against Charlotte and FAU across the season.
UAB, however, boasts one of the league's best in Kelsey Smith. Smith ranks third nationally and sits atop The American with five triple-doubles on the year. She also paces the AAC in service aces with 44, recording 0.41 per set, and is one of three Blazers who averages over two kills per set.
Along with Smith, Mia Reese and Asli Celikkol have posted over 250 terminations. The bulk of those kills have come courtesy of Lydia Canturk, who serves as UAB's primary setter, boasting 786 assists for a mark of 7.82 per set. Anna Burkhardt, meanwhile, anchors the defense with the fourth-most digs per set in the AAC at 4.30, while Madison Page tops the team with 96 blocks.
Keep up with UTSA Volleyball all season long on goutsa.com and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAVBall, X (Twitter) @UTSAVolleyball, and on Instagram @utsa_vb.
-UTSA-
For more information, contact:
Ryan Smith (ryan.smith2@utsa.edu)