| Junior Stefanie Robbins tied her career high with 20 kills on Saturday. |
ARLINGTON ? Junior middle hitter Stefanie Robbins tied her career high with a match-best 20 kills and UTSA held off a pesky UT Arlington squad, winning by scores of 25-20, 25-22, 19-25, 25-21 in Saturday's regular season finale for both teams.
The Roadrunners (19-11, 11-5 SLC) rebounded from Thursday's three-set loss at Texas State and won for the eighth time in their last 11 outings. UTSA also tied the single-season record for most wins during the seven-year Laura Neugebauer-Groff era, matching the totals posted by the 2003 and '06 squads.
The Birds used an 8-0 run midway through the first stanza to break open a 14-13 advantage. The Mavericks did not go away quietly, though, staving off four set points before UTSA took a 1-0 lead. The second frame, which featured 15 ties and six lead changes, was much closer, but the Roadrunners scored three of the final four tallies after UTA (8-23, 3-13 SLC) pulled within one at 22-21 to take a commanding 2-0 lead into the intermission.
The Mavericks jumped to a 10-2 edge in the third set and cruised to a six-point victory, which made things interesting. The following stanza was once again tight until UTSA turned a 15-14 deficit to a 19-16 lead with a 5-1 run. The Mavericks would get no closer than two the rest of the way and the Birds finished the regular season on a winning note.
Robbins hit .326, committing just six errors in her team-high 43 attacks. Sophomore outside hitter Kendra Rowland added 13 winners, while freshman outside hitter Elise Huskey and sophomore middle hitter slammed home 11 and 10, respectively. Freshman setter Amber Brooks had one of her finest matches of the year, as she handed out 52 assists to go along with a career-best eight kills and three service aces.
Freshman libero Kelsey Jewasko led three Roadrunners in double figures with a match-high 18 digs. Senior defensive specialist Audrey Hiser collected 13 and Huskey added a dozen.
UT Arlington was led by Amanda Aguilera's double-double of 19 kills and 13 digs.
UTSA will be the No. 3 seed at next weekend's SLC Tournament in Nacogdoches and will face sixth-seeded McNeese State (11-17) at 11 a.m. on Friday. The Roadrunners rallied for a five-set win on Oct. 15 in Lake Charles, La., in the only meeting with the Cowgirls this season.