SAN ANTONIO — UTSA swept Sam Houston State by scores of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-10 on Thursday night at the Convocation Center and the Roadrunners now are off to their best Southland Conference start in program history.
UTSA (9-8, 3-0 SLC) recorded a balanced offensive attack for its third consecutive sweep.
Leading the way was senior Elise Huskey, who notched 10 kills, while redshirt junior Kelsey Schwirtlich guided the Birds to a .295 hitting percentage with a match-high 36 assists.
Meanwhile, senior Kelsey Jewasko anchored the defense, which held the Bearkats (9-8, 3-1 SLC) to an .035 hitting percentage and forced 25 attack errors, by collecting 19 digs.
The Roadrunners opened the match with stingy defense and they led the opening set from start to finish.
UTSA limited the Bearkats to an .073 hitting percentage and forced nine attack errors. The Birds jumped out to a 12-6 lead, but Sam Houston State cut the deficit to three at 21-18 after back-to-back winners from Kaylee Hawkins and Kim Black. That forced a Roadrunners timeout and UTSA responded by winning four of the final seven points, including a pair on kills from freshman Dempsey Thornton.
UTSA continued to click on all cylinders in the ensuing frame and it limited Sam Houston to an .053 hitting percentage to take a commanding 2-0 lead into intermission. The Birds' hit at a .313 clip and once again did not trail in the frame.
UTSA raced out to a 10-4 edge, which was aided by four attack miscues by the Bearkats. The Roadrunners were able to increase their lead to 17-9 and never looked back. Sam Houston managed to trim the deficit to five (22-17), but a 3-1 spurt by the Birds, capped by a kill from junior Brittney Malloy, finished the set.
After the Beakats jumped out to a 5-2 advantage in the third stanza, UTSA responded with a 15-3 run, which included a trio of kills by sophomore McKenzie Adams, to claim the lead for good. Huskey continued to impress with four winners, two blocks, a pair of digs and a service ace in the final frame.
Carlie Kolbe racked up a match-high 14 kills for Sam Houston State, while Kym Loving posted a double-double of 26 assists and 14 digs.
UTSA will return to the court at 2 p.m. on Saturday when it hosts Stephen F. Austin (8-9, 1-2 SLC).
