SAN ANTONIO — Led by double-digit kills from outside hitters Whitney Walls and Kendra Rowland, the UTSA volleyball team rolled past UT Arlington by scores of 25-22, 14-25, 25-17, 25-18 on Thursday night in the Southland Conference opener for both teams.
Walls, a sophomore from Arlington, led UTSA (7-8) with 13 winners, while Rowland racked up 11 in the winning effort. Redshirt sophomore Kelsey Schwirtlich notched her team-leading 10th double-double of the year after dishing out a match-high 40 assists in addition to collecting 12 digs. Meanwhile. junior Kelsey Jewasko led the Birds' back-row effort with 19 digs.
UT Arlington (6-9) received 13 winners from Amanda Aguilera, while Bianca Sauls chipped in with a dozen. Alicia Shaffer led all players with 25 digs and Raegan Daniel handed out 37 assists.
The Roadrunners took advantage of five UT Arlington serving errors to claim the first set. The Birds also received a boost from Walls and sophomore Andee Josserand, as the duo combined for nine winners. UTSA led by as any as six (20-14) before the Mavs mounted a late comeback attempt. After a 9-3 UT Arlington run pulled the Mavericks within one at 23-22, the Birds staved off the late push and a winner by Josserand ended the set.
UT Arlington controlled the tempo in the second stanza, jumping out to a 16-6 advantage. The Mavs led from the first serve and cruised the rest of the way to even the match. Aguilera and Emily Shearin each chalked up three winners to pace UTA's .414 hitting percentage in the frame. UTSA struggled on the attack, hitting only .051 in the set.
Momentum then shifted back to the Roadrunners after an 11-4 run put them up 21-14 in the third frame. UTSA closed out the set to grab a 2-1 lead. Rowland collected five putdowns in helping the Birds attack at a .345 clip.
UTSA continued to roll in the fourth stanza.
The Roadrunners reeled off seven consecutive points behind the serving of senior Megan Schauffele to take a 10-3 lead. The two teams split the next 22 points before a cross-court strike by Rowland gave the Runners a 22-14 advantage. The match came to an end on a UT Arlington service error into the net.
UTSA will continue league play on Saturday when I-35 rival Texas State (7-7) comes to the Convo. First serve is slated for 3 p.m.
