? Air Force box score
? Prairie View A&M box score
| Victoria Prior continued her strong play on Friday. |
PRAIRIE VIEW ? UTSA got back on the winning track on Friday when it opened play at the Lady Panther Invitational with a pair of victories.
Playing in back-to-back matches, the Roadrunners (6-8) defeated Air Force by scores of 30-23, 30-27, 27-30, 30-17 before sweeping tournament host Prairie View A&M (30-20, 30-23, 30-28).
Junior middle hitter Victoria Prior had an outstanding day, hitting a combined .434 on the strength of 32 kills and just nine errors in 53 swings. Prior also recorded nine block solos, including a career-high six in the match against Prairie View A&M (4-8).
UTSA went on a 14-3 run in the first game against Air Force (5-6) after falling behind by two at 12-10 to take control late. The next frame was much closer, but the Roadrunners grabbed a 16-15 advantage midway through the stanza and held on to go up 2-0.
The Falcons came out of the break and broke open a 20-all game with a 6-1 run and held on for the three-point win. However, UTSA scored 20 of the match’s final 28 points and cruised to an easy 13-point victory in the fourth and final game.
Prior and freshman outside hitter Kendra Rowland led the Roadrunners with a match-high 19 winners apiece and they also hit .533 and .382, respectively, as UTSA swung it at a .271 clip as a team. Rowland added a career-best four service aces, while junior libero Audrey Hiser collected a match-high 12 digs on defense.
Outside hitter Caroline Kurtz led Air Force with 17 kills and a .378 hitting percentage.
It was all Roadrunners in their second match of the day, as they registered their third sweep of the year against Prairie View A&M.
UTSA led from start to finish in the first game and the Roadrunners went on an 11-3 run midway through the second en route to the seven-point triumph. The Lady Panthers came out of the break strong and led by as many as seven points (17-11), but UTSA battled back late to clinch the match victory.
Prior paced the offense with a match-high 13 winners and Hiser had three of the team’s season-best nine aces to go with 12 digs.
The Lady Panthers were led by middle blocker Ashely Campbell’s nine kills and libero Milcah Whittaker’s 10 digs.
The Roadrunners conclude tournament play with a pair of matches on Saturday. They play Texas Southern at 11:30 a.m. followed by a 3:30 p.m. tilt with Texas-Pan American.