SAN ANTONIO — UTSA ended the nation's third-longest active conference winning streak with a 25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19 victory against Central Arkansas on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners (17-9, 11-1 SLC) not only won their 10th contest in a row, but they also snapped the Sugar Bears' 33-match Southland Conference winning streak. Ironically enough, UTSA was the last league team to defeat Central Arkansas (22-7, 11-1 SLC) when it won in five sets on Oct. 25, 2008.
Seniors Kendra Rowland and Briana Mason paced the Roadrunners with 16 and 14 winners, respectively, while redshirt sophomore Kelsey Schwirtlich guided the offense to a .228 hitting percentage with 39 assists.
The UTSA defense held the conference's top hitting squad to a .151 clip. Junior Kelsey Jewasko collected a match-high 21 digs, while sophomore Andee Josserand and senior Megan Schauffele also were double figures with 17 and 11, respectively. The play at the net was just as strong with the Roadrunners collecting 13 team blocks, led by sophomore Brittney Malloy's seven.
Central Arkansas, which also saw its 16-match winning streak come to an end, received a match-best 19 winners from Jessica Hays, while Chloe Smith notched a dozen and Taylor Hammonds followed with 10. Marissa Collins led all players with 42 assists, while Smith racked up 18 digs.
UTSA broke open a tight first set with a 6-0 run that extended its lead to 21-14. However, UCA did not go down without a fight, pulling within three following a 6-2 spurt, but a Sugar Bears service error followed by a winner by Josserand gave the Birds the victory.
Back-to-back outstanding defensive plays from sophomore Megan Wimbish pushed the Roadrunners out to a 20-17 lead in the ensuing stanza. After Central Arkansas picked up its 18th point of the frame, UTSA answered with four consecutive marks to increase its lead to a half dozen at 24-18. The Sugar Bears fought off a pair of sets points before pushing the ball out of bounds and the Birds took a commanding lead into the locker room. Rowland helped the Birds to a .382 hitting percentage in the set after slamming home six winners.
UTSA struggled offensively in the third set and failed to put away UCA after hitting just .150 in the frame. The Birds battled back from a 10-8 deficit and used an 8-3 run to flip the score to 16-13 in its favor. The Sugar Bears used a 5-2 stretch to tie the match at 18 and they then created some separation en route to their first set point of the afternoon. An errant attack attempt by the Roadrunners gave Central Arkansas a two-point triumph.
The Suar Bears opened up a 5-1 advantage in the fourth frame before the Roadrunners soared back to claim a 7-6 lead following a Josserand winner. UTSA increased its lead to eight from there before finishing off the victory.
The Roadrunners will return to action on Thursday, Nov. 4, when Sam Houston State (12-15, 6-6 SLC) comes to town for a 6:30 p.m. tilt. The Birds swept the Bearkats four weeks ago and a victory would give the program 11 wins in a row for the first time in a decade.
