UTSA volleyball is coming in full swing this Fall 2023 season. Despite losing to SMU in both matches over the weekend, an overall 8-6 match count means the Roadrunners have had a winning season thus far.
Seven of those matches were won by the ‘Runners in three sets. The team even won three consecutive matches in three sets against UIW, Oral Roberts and Charlotte. The team has played in 14 matches together and is set to play in another 16 matches before the end of November.
“There’s always a way to give yourself some momentum, and we are headed into the tougher part of our conference, that’s just what it is right now, or the product or the conference is really,” said head coach Price.
The ‘Runners have been competing against other AAC teams such as Charlotte and SMU over the past week. SMU proved to be a fiercer rival than Charlotte for UTSA but the ‘Runners were able to showcase their competitive side from set one of match one against their new rival.
Of course, playing in a different league will bring in new and challenging competition. “These are big schools, they’re good teams, you have to respect every single opponent and no game is a game off, it’s really cool to get to play at this level. I mean, every game is like Christmas morning. It’s so much fun to play at this level,” said freshman setter Makenna Wiepert.
The Mustangs put pressure on the ‘Runners during their first set and caught up to them, even surpassing them in points, and were the first team to get to 25 points. The set was not over yet because the ‘Runners only trailed by one point. The two teams went back and forth until the ‘Runners were finally able to beat their competitor with a tip and the final score of 32-30.
Though UTSA ultimately lost to SMU in the first and second match, they put up a fierce fight. The girls were all smiles going into their second match against the Mustangs. It was a fight until the end.
“I absolutely believe it is going amazing. Compared to past seasons, I think our team has a lot more chemistry. I think that we have really good strong attackers. I really think the rest of our season is gonna go great. We wanted to beat them and we really tried, I think we really went all out. I think we really did our best. I genuinely feel like the rest of the season is gonna go great,” said senior Alicia Coppedge.
UTSA is set to play against Rice in two matches this weekend at the Gibbs Recreation Center in Houston. The first match will be at 6 p.m. on Friday, and the second match is on Saturday at 1 p.m.
