HOUSTON — Junior Whitney Walls racked up a career-high 22 kills, but it was not enough for UTSA to hold off Houston Baptist in a five-set thriller (25-23, 12-25, 19-25, 25-23, 15-11) to open the Rice Invitational II on Thursday night at Sharp Gym.
The Roadrunners (0-3) held a 2-1 lead after three stanzas, but the Huskies (5-0) remained perfect on the season after battling back with a close win in the fourth frame, followed by a late surge in the deciding panel.
Walls was one of four Roadrunners to record career bests on the night, as freshman Cara Tripp (10 kills), senior Kelsey Jewasko (36 digs) and junior Brittney Malloy (nine total blocks) set new personal bests.
Senior Elise Huskey turned in a double-double performance with 19 digs and a dozen winners, while redshirt junior Kelsey Schwirtlich handed out 52 assists. Freshman Dempsey Thornton also was in double figures with 12 kills.
The Huskies received a double-double of 18 winners and a dozen digs from Heather Leaverton, while Victoria Weatherly tallied 44 assists and Courtney Whittleman anchored the back row with 31 digs.
Walls racked up seven kills in the opening frame, but the Birds were unable to hang on to a 20-16 lead. Houston Baptist closed out the frame, which featured 11 ties and three lead changes, with a 9-3 run.
After dropping the first point in the second set, UTSA rebounded with a dominating performance on the attack. The Roadrunners hit at a .300 clip while cruising to the 13-point win.
UTSA used an 11-4 run in the middle of the third stanza to take a 15-8 lead and the two teams split the final 20 points to claim a 2-1 match advantage.
A closely-contested fourth set tipped in favor of the Huskies late. After the Roadrunners fought back to take a 13-12 lead, Houston Baptist rallied to reclaim a 23-21 lead. UTSA won two of the next three points, but the Huskies were able to hold on for the 25-23 win.
UTSA looked to be in control of the fifth set after racing out to a 6-3 lead. However, Houston Baptist rallied once again to take an 8-6 edge at the court change. The Huskies never looked back from there and picked up seven of the final 12 points to finish off the come-from-behind victory.
The Roadrunners will conclude tournament play on Friday against Georgia Tech (3-0/1:30 p.m.) and host Rice (0-2/7 p.m.) at Tudor Fieldhouse.
