| Sophomore Kendra Rowland had a match-high 17 kills on Friday night. |
BEAUMONT ?Sophomore outside hitter Kendra Rowland registered 17 kills and a .484 hitting percentage, but Lamar used a balanced attack on both offense and defense to snap UTSA’s 10-match winning streak with a 25-20, 25-19, 25-22 victory on Friday night at McDonald Gym.
The Roadrunners fell to 11-7 overall and 3-1 in Southland Conference play in their first loss since Sept. 6 against Weber State. The Lady Cardinals improved to 5-8 and 3-1.
Rowland took 31 swings and put down 17 winners on the evening, leading UTSA in kills for the 16th time this season. Freshman outside hitter Elise Huskey added eight kills, while freshman setter Amber Brooks posted a 30 assists. Freshman libero Kelsey Jewasko collected a match-high 16 digs and sophomore middle hitter Valorie Rogers recorded a pair of block assists.
Lamar broke open a back-and-forth first set with a 6-1 run to close out a 25-20 victory. Lauren Holdorff had five kills to lead the Lady Cardinals, while six different players recorded a winner for Lamar in the set.
The second frame was tied at 12 until Lamar used a 7-2 run to pull ahead for good in a 25-19 decision.
UTSA controlled most of the third stanza, despite three early service errors, and held a 14-10 advantage after a kill by sophomore middle hitter Briana Mason. Another winner from Mason gave UTSA an 18-13 lead, but Lamar rallied with four unanswered points to pull within one. A UTSA attack error gave the Lady Cardinals their first lead at 20-19 and Lamar eventually closed out the match on a 5-3 run, the last point coming on the Roadrunners’ sixth service error of the set and 12th of the night.
Holdorff led Lamar’s offense with 11 kills, while Genevieve Gladle added seven. Ashley Todd posted a match-high 32 assists, while Shalayne Blythe posted four of Lamar’s nine team blocks on the evening.
UTSA returns to the court on Saturday at Sam Houston State. First serve is set for 4 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum.