| Nov. 11, 2005
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907 UTSA drops four-game heartbreaker at Northwestern State Box Score
SAN ANTONIO – Junior Meagan Daniel (Hereford, Texas) recorded a career-high 29 kills, but Juliana Abreu posted 21 kills and nine service aces to help lead Northwestern State to a narrow, 37-35, 30-28, 25-30, 30-28 victory over the UTSA volleyball team Friday night at Prather Coliseum.
With the win, the Lady Demons improve to 10-14 overall and 8-9 in the Southland Conference. The Roadrunners fall to 15-10 and 11-6 and remain in fourth place in the league standings. It marked just the second win for Northwestern State in the all-time series that UTSA dominates, 24-2.
Daniel surpassed her previous career-best of 26 posted twice in 2004 with a match-high 29 as she hit .400 for the match. She added 16 digs for her 14th double-double of the season, also notching her 21st double-digit kills outing of the year. Daniel also registered a career-best 31.5 points, adding two aces and one block assist.
Junior Erin McMillan posted a match-high 20 digs, her 10th 20-dig match of the year, while junior DeeDee Strickland turned in 47 assists.
Abreu’s 21 kills led three Demons in double digits as Priscila Augusto and Whitney King added 16 and 15, respectively. Flavia Belo registered a match-high 59 assists and Rachel Ford added 17 digs.
Game one was indicative of how the night would go for both teams. UTSA fought back from an early 14-8 deficit to within two with a 6-0 run. The Demons would hold off the Roadrunners until late when UTSA negated three straight game points and tied the game at 29-all. UTSA actually earned its first game point at 30-29 on an attack error by the Demons but Northwestern held on an Abreu kill. The Roadrunners then had three consecutive game points denied by Augusto kills, however UTSA returned the favor trailing 34-33 on a kill by senior Rachel Tilson. A Demon attack error gave UTSA another game point at 35-34, but Northwestern rallied to tie it on a kill by Whitney King. The Demons took the lead on a kill by Belo and then wrapped up the back-and-forth frame on an attack by Megan Jordan that apparently landed just inside the end line.
Game two came down to the wire as Northwestern rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to take a 5-4 lead behind the strong serving of Abreu. The Demons built a three-point lead at 16-13, but the Roadrunners rallied for a 20-19 advantage with a 7-3 run. Northwestern fought back to tie it at 25-all on a King ace and eventually took the lead at 28-27 on an Abreu putdown. A kill by Daniel, her 18th through two games, tied it at 28-all but the Demons put it away with an Augusto winner and an ace by Abreu.
UTSA broke open a tight game three at 15-15 with a 6-2 run for a 21-17 advantage. The Roadrunners extended the lead to seven at 26-19 on a block by Tilson and senior Jennifer Emelogu and held on for the 30-25 decision to force game four.
The finale was tight throughout with neither team able to separate itself by more than three points. Trailing by two at 26-24 and coming out of a timeout, the Demons ran off four straight points for a 28-26 lead. UTSA answered on a kill by redshirt freshman Victoria Prior, but Northwestern earned its first game point on a King winner. A Demon service error gave new life to UTSA but Northwestern ended it on a kill by Abreu, 30-28.
The Roadrunners close out the regular season at Louisiana-Monroe Saturday. First serve is set for 2 p.m.
NORTHWESTERN STATE def. UTSA
37-35, 30-28, 25-30, 30-28
UTSA: kills, Meagan Daniel 29; assists, DeeDee Strickland 47; digs, Erin McMillan 20; blocks, Jennifer Emelogu 3; aces, Daniel 2
NWST: kills, Juliana Abreu; assists, Flavia Belo 59; digs, Rachel Ford 17; blocks, Priscila Augusto 6; aces, Abreu 9
Records: UTSA 15-10, 11-6 SLC; NWST 10-14, 8-9 SLC
|
