Senior Kendra Rowland led UTSA with 13 kills on Sunday afternoon.
SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA volleyball team came back to defeat North Texas, 3-2 (25-19, 14-25, 24-26, 25-23, 15-8), despite being two points away from a loss on Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
North Texas (6-5) led 23-18 in the fourth set, but a stingy UTSA (5-6) squad reeled off seven consecutive points to stay alive before winning the final frame.
Senior Kendra Rowland led three UTSA players in double digits with 13 kills. Andee Josserand notched 11 winners, while Brittney Malloy recorded 10. Redshirt sophomore Kelsey Schwirtlich continued her solid play with another double-double of 40 assists and 16 digs. while junior Kelsey Jewasko posted a match-high 31 digs.
North Texas was led by 23 kills from Amy Huddleston. Rachelle Wilson chipped in with 14 winners. Kayla Saey dished out a match-high 54 assists and tallied 15 digs. Sarah Wiley posted 30 digs to lead the Mean Green's defensive efforts.
The Runners' momentum from Saturday night's sweep against Davidson carried into the first set of the afternoon, as they pushed out to an early 7-3 lead. A 5-1 run by the Mean Green pulled the game within one (8-7). The Birds answered with a 9-2 run, which gave UTSA an eight-point advantage (17-9) after a kill from Rowland. The runs would not end, as North Texas answered back immediately with a 9-3 stretch, which cut the UTSA lead to two (20-18). Following a Roadrunners timeout, Rowland capped off a 5-1 run when she slammed home her fourth winner.
The battle of streaks continued in the early part of the second frame. UTSA jumped to an early 6-1 advantage thanks to back-to-back services aces from Rowland. The Mean Green soared back by reeling off an 18-4 run en route to an easy 11-point triumph.
With the match knotted at 12 in the third set, the two teams went back-and-forth for the next 16 points before two consecutive attack errors by the Mean Green allowed UTSA to take a 22-20 advantage. The lead was short-lived, however, as North Texas claimed the next two points. The teams played even for the next four serves and, with the match tied at 24, North Texas received a kill from Huddleston and a Roadrunners attack error to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
With UTSA trailing by five (23-18) in the fourth stanza, Schwirtlich and Rowland each registered putdowns. North Texas committed an attack error, which cut the Mean Green lead to two, and the Roadrunners tied the set at 23 when senior Briana Mason and Schwirtlich combined on a block. UTSA claimed the lead when a Melanie Boykins attack went wide and Rowland and Mason joined forces to block Roxana Casvean's attack attempt to give the Runners a 25-23 win, which forced the deciding set.
UTSA gained a 5-3 lead in the deciding frame on the strength of a 4-0 run, forcing North Texas to call a timeout. The Roadrunners held an 8-5 advantage as the two teams switched sides and the brief pause in action did not deter the Birds' momentum, as UTSA went on to win 15-8.
UTSA will take a trip north to Fort Worth for the two-day TCU Nike/Molten Invitational beginning Friday, Sept. 17. The Roadrunners will open play at 1 p.m. against tournament host TCU (6-4).