SAN ANTONIO – Leaving early due to Hurricane Florence, Virginia Tech's volleyball practiced in San Antonio on Thursday and will do so on Friday before taking on its first ranked opponent of the season in No. 18 Baylor on Saturday and then battling against host UTSA on Sunday at the UTSA Invitational.
The two matches will take place inside the Convocation Center at 1 p.m. ET on both days, and it will be the first meeting between Tech (9-1) and the Bears (6-3) and Roadrunners (7-3). Tech's match against UTSA can be seen on C-USA TV. A 24-hour subscription is $6.95.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Sat. | 1 p.m. ET vs. No. 18 Baylor | Stats
Sun. | 1 p.m. ET vs. UTSA | Stats | Stream
The last time out, Tech took down preseason A-10 favorite VCU in straight sets at home, tying for its fastest start in school history. It also won nine of its first 10 matches in 2009.
Senior Jaila Tolbert and redshirt senior Rhegan Mitchell led the way on offense, with Tolbert hitting .625 with 10 kills and Mitchell dishing out 36 assists.
Defensively, Carol Raffety shined once again. The junior scooped up 17 digs to move to No. 15 all-time in school history for career digs, passing Kennedy McGrath (2012-15).
In Tech's 10 matches this fall, it has held eight of its opponents to having a hitting percentage lower than .200, including four south of .100.
The Bears' Yossiana Pressley and Tolbert played together this summer on the U.S. Collegiate National Team – Detroit.
SCOUTING No. 18 BAYLOR
• No. 18 Baylor is coming off a 2-1 weekend at its home tournament, taking down No. 6 Wisconsin 3-1 on Friday, falling to UTRGV 3-2 on Saturday and then coming back later in the evening to defeat Rice 3-1. It owns an overall record of 6-3, but is 0-2 in neutral-site and away matches.
• The Bears started the season off strong, opening up 2018 with a 4-0 record with wins over LSU and No. 21 Marquette. They then took on No. 16 UCLA and No. 23 San Diego, losing both matches. The win over Wisconsin was Baylor's highest-ranked win in program history.
• Head Coach Ryan McGuyre enters his fourth year in Waco and owns an overall record of 69-35 (.663). He has led the Bears to two NCAA Tournament appearances and is the reigning Big 12 Coach of the Year. McGuyre also won three national titles at the NAIA level at Cal Baptist.
• Pressley leads the Bears, pacing them with a 5.19 kills per set average, tied for first in the Big 12. The sophomore had her best match yet this past weekend, racking up a career-high 32 kills against the then-second-ranked Badgers to earn Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.
SCOUTING UTSA
• Similar to the Hokies, UTSA is coming off of a midweek tilt, playing this past Tuesday against Texas State and losing in straight sets at home. Last weekend, it went 2-1 at the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup in Houston, Texas, getting wins over Houston and Houston Baptist and losing to Cornell 3-1.
• The Roadrunners enter their home tournament with a 7-3 record. The opening weekend of the season, they won the Army Invitational in West Point, New York.
• Head Coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff enters her 16th year in San Antonio after leading the Roadrunners to a 12-16 overall record last fall and guiding them to the second round of the Conference USA Tournament. Neugebauer-Groff, the winningest coach in school history, owns an overall record of 296-215.
• Freshman Kenedi Rutherford is coming off of her first career start and did not disappoint, pounding down 17 kills versus Texas State. Setter Amanda Gonzales leads the Roadrunners with 330 assists and outside hitter Brianna McCulloch has recorded a team-high 134 kills.
