| Sophomore Kendra Rowland slammed home 24 winners on Wednesday. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Sophomore outside hitter Kendra Rowland slammed home a match-high 24 kills on just 50 attacks (.380 pct.) and led UTSA to its fifth consecutive home-opening win on Wednesday night with a 25-22, 25-21, 24-26, 25-15 victory against Georgia at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners (2-6) took control from the onset and snapped a five-match losing streak in front of the third-largest crowd in school history (809).
Rowland added a match-best 19 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and freshman setter Amber Brooks served up a a career-best five aces to go along with a career-high 54 assists in helping the Birds hit a season-high .286 in the match.
Freshman outside hitter Elise Huskey chipped in with a personal-best 16 winners and a dozen digs, while junior middle hitter Stefanie Robbins racked up four block assists.
“This was a great win for us," head coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff said. "I am so proud of how the girls came out and fought from start to finish. To beat a team like Georgia shows we’re heading in the right direction. They are a very talented club and we did a great job of keeping them out of their system tonight. I think this match will give our young players the confidence they need heading into this weekend’s tournament in Chicago and beyond. I want to thank all the fans who came out and supported us tonight. They were instrumental in keeping Georgia out of their game and we couldn’t have won this match without them.”
UTSA jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set, but the Bulldogs (5-3) responded with a 7-1 run to take their first lead of the night. The frame remained tight before Georgia extended the advantage to three at 19-16. A 3-1 rally by the Roadrunners led to a Bulldogs timeout, but UTSA continued the momentum and outscored UGA 9-3 to end the set for the hard-fought three-point victory.
Rowland racked up eight kills and the Birds came out strong once again in the second stanza, scoring the first three points and never relinquishing the lead. That gave UTSA a commanding 2-0 advantage heading into the locker room.
However, Georgia did not go down without a fight. The Bulldogs staved off one match point (24-23) and won the third set, which featured 14 ties and 10 lead changes, on the strength of a .314 hitting percentage and they appeared to have momentum on their side.
But it was all UTSA in the fourth and final frame.
Rowland had seven more winners on 11 swings and Huskey was a perfect 4-for-4, as the Roadrunners scored 12 of the final 18 points of the match to post their third all-time win against a Southeastern Conference school.
Erika Clark had 11 kills to lead UGA and Kathleen Gates dished out 34 assists.
UTSA returns to action on Friday night when it opens play at the DePaul Invitational against tournament host DePaul (1-4). First serve is slated for 7:30 p.m. at McGrath Arena and the match can be heard live on goUTSA.com with a Rowdy Zone subscription.