SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA volleyball team is headed for Tulsa, where a 6 p.m. matchup awaits inside the Reynolds Center on Friday, ahead of a Sunday contest with Wichita State in Charles Koch Arena at 1 p.m. that will wrap up the season.
The Roadrunners (9-18, 3-11 The American) split last week, first falling to Memphis, 25-18, 20-25, 25-23, 25-20, before besting Florida Atlantic, 25-19, 25-21, 25-19.
Junior Mia Soerensen was dominant for the Roadrunners on the week, first posting 17 kills against the Tigers before charting nine kills and eight blocks against the Owls. On the week, she logged 26 terminations at a .316 clip with 11 blocks for 32.0 total points. Freshman Ally Tribe was also solid for UTSA, recording 31 terminations and four service aces with 20 digs, while sophomore Annika Sokol set the table for the Roadrunner offense, tallying 44 assists and 19 digs.
The Golden Hurricane (17-9, 9-5 The American) picked up a pair of wins over East Carolina (25-23, 25-22, 25-22) and Charlotte (25-22, 23-25, 25-12, 25-15) last week, to clinch AAC tournament berth.
Tulsa leads the AAC and is 17th nationally with 17.09 digs per set, a figure that is heavily aided by Marta Pecalli, whose 457 digs top the conference. The Golden Hurricane are also 19th in the NCAA with 37.69 team attacks per set, and 1,624 total digs are 40th. Tytiana Johnson paces the league, boasting 115 blocks, and Brittany Bacorn in aces per set with 0.46. Additionally, Tatum Tornatta paces the team in kills with 256, and Brayden Hipp in assists, dishing out 623.
The Shockers (15-11, 10-4 The American) fell in five sets to Rice (20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 16-14), ahead of a sweep over Tulane (25-22, 25-19, 25-21), and similar to Tulsa have cemented a spot in the league tournament.
WSU tops The American in team total attacks at 3,704 and in total blocks with 229.0. Morgan Stout has been a standout performer with the squad, topping the team with 319 kills and 102 blocks. Izzi Strand serves as the team's primary setter with 1,017 assists on the year, and Annalie Heliste has scooped 324 of the opposition's attacks. Reagan Anderson and Stout are tied with a squad-high 25 service aces.
Keep up with UTSA Volleyball on, and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAVBall, Twitter @UTSAVolleyball, and on Instagram @utsa_vb.
-UTSA-