| Sophomore Kendra Rowland had 17 kills and 11 digs on Friday night. |
CORPUS CHRISTI ? Sophomore outside hitter Kendra Rowland posted her 10th double-double of the season and UTSA held off a late rally by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for a 25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-27, 15-10 victory on Friday night at Moody Fieldhouse.
The Roadrunners' ninth win in a row pushed their overall record to 10-6 and they also improved to 3-0 in Southland Conference play for the first time in school history.
UTSA used early runs of 4-0 and 8-3 to take command of the first set and the Birds hit .353 with Rowland and junior middle hitter Stefanie Robbins leading the way with five kills apiece. The Roadrunners looked to be on their way to a 2-0 lead, but A&M-Corpus Christi (3-10, 1-2 SLC) scored 12 of the final 16 points of the second frame to rally from a 19-13 deficit to tie the match heading into intermission.
The two squads came out of the locker room strong, as the third stanza featured 10 ties and four lead changes. After falling behind 19-18, UTSA went on a 7-3 run to record a three-point win and take what appeared to be a commanding 2-1 lead.
However, it was d?j? vu all over again in the fourth set. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi dug itself another big hole, this time at 22-11, but the Roadrunners could not finish the Islanders off. AMCC went on to score 16 of the final 19 tallies to rally for a thrilling, two-point triumph. UTSA had a pair of match points, but the Islanders fought both of them off during a late 5-1 run that sent the match to a fifth-and-deciding set.
The Roadrunners scored three of the first four points of the final frame and it was the closest A&M-Corpus Christi would get the rest of the way. The Islanders drew within two at 9-7, but UTSA closed the match out with a 6-3 run that sent them to their ninth win in a row and third to open the conference slate.
Rowland led three Roadrunners in double figures with 17 kills. Robbins hit .333 on the strength of a season-high 15 winners, while freshman outside hitter Elise Huskey added a dozen. Freshman Amber Brooks racked up 50 assists and also recorded seven kills.
Freshman libero Kelsey Jewasko led a balanced defensive effort along the back row with 16 digs. Three other players ? Huskey (14), senior Audrey Hiser (12) and Rowland (11) ? were in double digits, as the Southland Conference leaders racked up 66 on the night. Sophomore middle hitter Valorie Rogers continued her strong play at the net, recording a match-high eight total blocks (2/6).
Kasey McBrearty led the Islanders with a match-best 22 kills and Lauren Paslay collected 16 digs.
UTSA is back in action on Saturday when it heads to Edinburg for a 4 p.m. match at Texas-Pan American. The Roadrunners defeated the Lady Broncs in four sets two-and-a-half weeks ago and have won 35 of the last 36 meetings between the two schools.