NACOGDOCHES — Senior Kendra Rowland tallied a match-high 14 winners to help the UTSA volleyball team to a four-set win at Stephen F. Austin on Thursday night. The victory was the Roadrunners first in Nacogdoches in more than a decade (Sept. 16, 2000).
Rowland led three UTSA players in double figures, while sophomore Whitney Walls and junior Elise Huskey chipped in with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Kelsey Schwirtlich led all players with 48 assists and junior Kelsey Jewasko collected 26 digs to anchor the Birds' back row.
The Roadrunners (8-9, 2-1 SLC) hit .201, including .350 in the third set, and held Stephen F. Austin (8-10, 1-2 SLC) to a .169 hitting percentage.
Mary Caitlin Bottles and Kelsey Owens each tallied 13 winners to pace the Ladyjacks attack.
UTSA held a 10-9 lead in the opening set before SFA recieved a winner from Allison Gideon to tie it at 10. An attack error by the Roadrunners handed the Ladyjacks the lead for good. SFA pushed its lead to 23-18 before UTSA mounted a comeback attempt. The Birds reeled off three consecutive points to pull within two (23-21), but the Jacks withstood the push by UTSA by scoring the final two points.
The Roadrunners took a 7-6 lead in the second stanza and never looked back. UTSA increased its lead to seven (24-17) before the Ladyjacks picked up a point with a kill by Sabrina Burns. A service error followed to allow the Birds to tie the match.
UTSA claimed the lead after winning a closely-contested third frame. The Roadrunners trailed by four (10-6) early on, but they went on to lead by three (21-18) before the two teams traded several set points. UTSA took a 27-26 lead after Schwirtlich set up Rowland for a winner and took control of the match after a Ladyjacks attack error.
Momentum allowed UTSA to take an early 5-1 lead to start the fourth set. The Birds pushed out to a five-point advantage (19-14) on a winner by Rowland. Leading 22-17, UTSA won the final three points, including a kill by Rowland, to seal the win.
UTSA continues its three-match road swing on Saturday with a trip to Sam Houston State (7-11, 1-2 SLC). First serve is slated for 2 p.m.
