COLLEGE STATION — UTSA dropped a pair of matches during its first day of the 2011 season on Friday at the Texas A&M Invitational. The Roadrunners lost a five-set thriller to Creighton to open tournament play before being swept by the host Aggies in the evening. Senior Elise Huskey earned all-tournament honors after racking up a team-leading 21 kills, .250 hitting percentage and six service aces to go along with 26 digs.
Roadrunners swept by Texas A&M in nightcap
COLLEGE STATION — UTSA wrapped up its brief one-day appearance at the Texas A&M Invitational with a 25-23, 25-21, 25-21 setback against the host Aggies on Friday night at Reed Arena.
The Roadrunners (0-2), who were limited to a .203 hitting percentage, were led by juniors Kelsey Schwirtlich (32 assists) and Kelsey Jewasko (16 digs).
"I thought we played well, despite the outcome," 10th-year head coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff said. "We got better and better as the day went on and learned a lot about our club."
Texas A&M (2-0) was led by Kelsey Black's double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs. Meanwhile, Alisia Kastmo added 13 winners on 26 attempts with just two errors, which translated to a match-best .423 hitting percentage.
A closely-contested opening set was decided late, as the Aggies held three straight match points before winning the frame. The Roadrunners, who trailed by as much as five midway through the stanza, pulled within one at 24-23 after freshman Dempsey Thornton and junior Brittney Malloy combined on a block. However, Texas A&M turned to Black for her fourth kill to close out the set.
Four winners from Thornton allowed UTSA to rush out to an 11-4 lead in the second frame, but the Aggies answered with an 11-4 run to tie things up at 15. Later in the set, Kastmo posted back-to-back kills to give Texas A&M a 22-19 advantage. After trading the next four points, the Aggies recieved back-to-back winners from Black to take a 2-0 lead into intermission.
A&M raced out to a 5-1 lead in the final panel, but the Roadrunners fought back to tie the set at 12. Back-to-back kills by Malloy put the Birds on top, 14-13, for the first time in the period. However, the Aggies regained the advantage eight points later and never looked back.
UTSA will return to action next week at the Rice Invitational II in Houston. The Roadrunners will open tournament play at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Houston Baptist (1-0).
UTSA drops five-set thriller to Creighton in season opener
COLLEGE STATION — UTSA nearly overcame a 2-0 deficit in its season opener, but Creighton was able to hold off the Roadrunners in five sets (25-15, 25-19, 25-27, 16-25, 16-14) in Friday's season-opening match at the Texas A&M Invitational.
UTSA was able to edge the Bluejays in the third set and received four consecutive service aces from senior Elise Huskey in the fourth frame to force the decisive panel. However, the Birds were unable to hold off Creighton after jumping out to a 4-0 lead and holding a pair of match-point opportunities.
Huskey paced UTSA with a double-double of 20 digs and 14 kills to go along with a half dozen service aces. Senior Kelsey Jewasko anchored UTSA's back row with 31 digs, while redshirt junior Kelsey Schwirtlich handed out 33 assists. Freshman Dempsey Thornton added 11 winners and junior Whitney Walls tallied 10.
Creighton received a triple-double from Megan Bober (51 assists/14 digs/11 kills) and a match-high 16 kills from Laurel Sanford.
After taking a 12-8 lead in the opening frame, UTSA struggled to maintain the advantage. Creighton tied the match at 12 and proceeded to reel off a 17-3 run to claim the first set by 10 points. Huskey posted three winners, but the Roadrunners racked up seven errors en route to a .065 hitting percentage.
UTSA held a 9-7 lead in the second frame, but the Bluejays again overcame the deficit to take a commanding 2-0 advantage into the locker room. Huskey posted four kills, but it was not enough as Creighton pulled away late for the eight-point win.
The Roadrunners began their comeback after intermission. The third stanza featured eight lead changes and UTSA snapped a 25-all tie by winning the final two points, including a winner from freshman Cara Tripp.
Huskey helped the Roadrunners continue the momentum in the fourth frame. The Columbus native fueled a 7-0 run with four consecutive service aces to give the Birds a 20-11 advantage and they went on to force a fifth-and-deciding set.
UTSA continued rolling by jumping out to a 4-0 lead, but Creighton battled back to tie the set at 9-all. After a timeout, the Raodrunners used a 5-3 run to gain match point, but they could not withstand the Bluejays' final charge, which consisted of four consecutive points to finish off the match.
UTSA will conclude its visit to College Station tonight with a 7:30 p.m. match at Texas A&M, which swept Creighton later in the day.
