IRVING, Texas – On Monday, the American Athletic Conference released its Preseason Coaches' Poll and Preseason All-Conference awards ahead of the 2024 volleyball season, with Mia Soerensen representing UTSA as a unanimous selection. Additionally, the Roadrunners were slotted to finish seventh out of 13 AAC programs.
Soerensen was named to the All-Conference team a season ago, marking UTSA's first selection since joining the league and the first second-team pick since 2018. She started 28 matches for the Roadrunners as an opposite hitter, playing in 106 sets and posting a team-high 386.0 points. She paced the squad in kills, recording 337 terminations for an average of 3.18 per set, and converted attacks at a .249 clip. Her numbers slotted her on The American's Top 10 list in both kills and blocks per set, while 93 blocks were second on the team. She etched her name on the Roadrunner's all-time performance list, with 88 block assists representing the 10th-best single-season mark in the rally-scoring era. She also worked an eight-block match on Nov. 10 at Wichita State, which ties for the program's sixth-best performance in a four-set match.
Twelve total student-athletes were represented on the Preseason All-Conference team, as Angeles Alderete took home Preseason Player of the Year Honors. Along with Soerensen and Alderete, Valeria Rosado (Florida Atlantic), Morgan Stout (Wichita State), and Izzy Strand (Wichita State) were also chosen unanimously. Additionally, Soerensen's selection marks the first occasion since joining the AAC that a Roadrunner was selected for the honor, and the first time across any conference since Marijeta Runjic was named Preaseason All-Conference USA in 2017.
The full American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll and honors can be found below:
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
|
1 |
Rice (8) |
136 |
|
2 |
Wichita State (4) |
127 |
|
3 |
South Florida (1) |
121 |
|
4 |
East Carolina |
106 |
|
5 |
Florida Atlantic |
104 |
|
6 |
North Texas |
86 |
|
7 |
UTSA |
79 |
|
8 |
Temple |
57 |
|
9 |
Memphis |
56 |
|
10 |
Tulsa |
52 |
|
11 |
Charlotte |
36 |
|
12 |
Tulane |
30 |
|
13 |
UAB |
24 |
|
Offensive Player of the Year |
|
Angeles Alderete, Jr., OH, East Carolina |
Preseason All-Conference Team
Lara Kretchmer, Gr., MB, Charlotte
Angeles Alderete, Jr., OH, East Carolina*
Valeria Rosado, Sr., OH/RS, Florida Atlantic*
Aryn Johnson, Sr., OH, North Texas
Nia McCardell, 5th, L/DS, Rice
Maria Clara Andrade, Jr., OH, South Florida
Caroline Dykes, Sr., S, South Florida
Taylor Davenport, Gr., OH, Temple
Mia Soerensen, Jr., OPP, UTSA*
Avery Burks, So., OH, Tulane
Morgan Stout, R-Sr., MB, Wichita State*
Izzi Strand, 5th, S, Wichita State*
*denotes unanimous selection
Keep up with UTSA Volleyball on goutsa.com, and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAVBall, Twitter @UTSAVolleyball, and on Instagram @utsa_vb.
-UTSA-