| Sophomore Briana Mason had a career-high 15 kills and four total blocks on Wednesday night. |
LAKE CHARLES, La. ? Down 2-0 and playing without arguably the league's top player, UTSA needed a miracle to snap its two-match losing streak on Wednesday night. And that's exactly what the Roadrunners pulled off at McNeese State, rallying from two sets down for a 23-25, 13-25, 25-13, 25-20, 19-17 victory at Memorial Gym.
Led by sophomore middle hitter Briana Mason's career-high 15 kills, .444 hitting percentage and four total blocks, the Roadrunners left the Bayou State with one of the most memorable victories of the seven-year Laura Neugebauer-Groff era.
UTSA, which improved to 12-8 overall and 4-2 in Southland Conference play, entered intermission reeling after giving up a first-set lead late and watching the Cowgirls (5-12, 2-4 SLC) use an 11-2 run to take control of the second frame.
However, it was all Mason and the Roadrunners after the 10-minute break. The Dallas native came out of the locker room on fire, slamming home six kills on just seven swings and posting a pair of block assists in the third set.
Robbins and freshman Kelsey Jewasko then had four winners apiece and UTSA broke open a 13-13 set with a 7-1 run to push the match to a fifth-and-deciding frame.
Mason added five more kills in the final stanza and junior middle hitter Stefanie Robbins had four of her own to go along with two blocks to give the Roadrunners the hard-fought victory. The Birds staved off a pair of match points at 14-13 and 15-14 and were successful in their third attempt of the night.
Robbins finished the match with 13 winners and a team-high six blocks and freshman setter Amber Brooks had her sixth double-double of the year with 46 assists and 17 digs. Brooks also racked up five block assists and freshman outside hitter Elise Huskey had a match-best three service aces.
Defensively, senior Audrey Hiser led four players in double figures with 18 digs and Jewasko and Huskey collected 17 and 13, repsectively.
Sophomore Kendra Rowland, who entered the match with a league-best 285 kills, had eight in just three sets of action. The Antioch, Calif., native played the first two stanzas and did not return to the contest until the final frame.
McNeese State was led by Nicole Bowden's 12 winners and seven total blocks.
UTSA returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center for the first time in nearly three weeks when it hosts East Division leader Stephen F. Austin (15-3, 6-0 SLC) in a 2 p.m. match on Saturday. The Ladyjacks come into the contest with 13 wins in a row.