| Freshman Elise Huskey had career highs of 22 digs and 17 kills on Friday night. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Freshman Elise Huskey had career highs of 22 digs and 17 kills and sophomore Kendra Rowland added a double-double of 18 digs and 17 winners to lead UTSA to a 25-10, 25-22, 28-30, 25-17 victory against UT Arlington on Friday night in the Southland Conference opener for both schools.
The Roadrunners, playing for the first time in nine days, improved to 7-6 in winning their sixth match in row and the victory was the 100th of seventh-year head coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff's tenure. The Mavericks lost for the ninth time in the last 10 contests and saw their season record fall to 4-11.
It was all UTSA in the early going, as the Birds used a 9-0 run midway through the first set to take command and they cruised to their most-lopsided triumph of the year, 25-10. The Roadrunners hit a robust .481 in the stanza and limited the Mavericks to a -.172 percentage. UTSA then held off late Mavericks rally one frame later to take a 2-0 lead into the locker room.
However, UT Arlington came out of the intermission strong and it used timely offense and great defense at the net to pick up a thrilling two-point win in the third set. The Mavericks, who hit .159 and registered four blocks, staved off a pair of Roadrunners' match points and converted on their fourth set point to extend the contest.
The next frame was back-and-forth, featuring eight ties and three lead changes, but UTSA went on a 6-0 rally after UTA pulled within one at 14-13 to put the set out of reach and went on for the eight-point victory.
Junior Stefanie Robbins and sophomore Valorie Rogers contributed eight kills apiece and freshman Amber Brooks handed out a career-best 56 assists. Huskey continued her strong play at the service line, recording three more aces to push her season total to 18.
Defensively, freshman Kelsey Jewasko racked up 19 digs, her 10th match in a row in double figures, and Robbins collected four blocks (1/3) to lead the Roadrunners at the net.
UT Arlington was led by Amanda Aguilera and Emiy Shearin, who both had nine winners.
UTSA hosts I-35 rival Texas State (8-10, 1-0 SLC) in a 4 p.m. match on Saturday. Free "Beat Texas State" T-shirts will be given out and the tilt can been seen live on goUTSA.com.