SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA volleyball team is en route to Wichita, Kansas, with the squad set to test its seven-match winning streak against a Wichita State club that's tied for second in the American Athletic Conference. The teams will first meet on Friday at 7 p.m. inside Charles Koch Arena before facing each other once more on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Roadrunners (15-11, 8-7 AAC) have been unbeatable as of late, recently recording a pair of victories over Tulsa. They picked up a four-set win last Friday, ahead of a Saturday sweep that led to a couple of AAC Honor Roll selections for senior Alicia Coppedge and junior Ellie Turner.
Coppedge was superb over the weekend, first logging 14 kills and eight blocks before tacking on 15 more terminations across the two matches. She scored 34.5 points for the 'Runners and effectively converted attacks at a .542 clip. Turner led the charge defensively, posting the second-most per set in the AAC, recording 43 over seven sets for a 6.14 average. She helped hold the opposition to a .102 clip, the lowest in the league.
The Shockers (17-7, 11-3 AAC) split against North Texas last time out and enter the weekend matching Rice for the second-best record in the AAC, just behind an SMU squad that's gone 13-1 in league play.
WSU leads the AAC in hitting percentage, converting attacks at a .249 clip and averaging 13.08 kills per set. Individually, Natalie Foster tops The American and ranks 21st nationally in the statistic with a mark of .403 and a team-high 252 terminations. Just behind Foster, Sophia Rohling has logged 250 kills, while Morgan Stout joins the pair with over 200 on the season. Nearing 1000 assists in 2023, Izzy Strand has been a significant reason for the offensive success, as her 940 helpers and 10.11 assists per set rank second in the AAC.
Defensively, the Shockers are one of the league's best, sitting third in hitting percentage at .167. Gabi Mass paces the program with 347 digs across 93 frames. Foster and Stout, meanwhile, have been WSU's top blockers, each boasting 90.
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.
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