SAN ANTONIO — UTSA finished off a perfect weekend at its own tournament on Saturday with a pair of victories against Belmont and UTEP.
The Roadrunners (5-2) got past the Bruins for the second time in the last three days in four sets (25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 25-22) before going the distance against the Miners in the nightcap (23-25, 25-19, 25-11, 16-25, 15-13).
Thornton double-double paces Roadrunners against Belmont
SAN ANTONIO — Sophomore Dempsey Thornton's double-double (career-high 24 kills/11 digs) led UTSA to a 25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 25-22 victory against Belmont on Saturday at third match of the UTSA Classic.
Thornton also hit .370, freshman Kylie Schott posted a season-high 11 winners on .625 hitting and senior Whitney Walls added 13 kills.
The Roadrunners (4-2) limited the Bruins (1-5) to a .139 hitting percentage by forcing 19 attack errors.
UTSA jumped a commanding 2-0 lead before Belmont extended the contest with a victory in the third set. The Bruins led wire-to-wire in the frame after racing out to a 5-0 lead.
Despite falling behind 4-0 to start the final panel, Belmont rattled off a 17-9 run to take a four-point advantage. However, the Birds rallied to tie the match at 21 before scoring four of the final five points to end the match.
UTSA will conclude tournament play at 6:30 p.m. against UTEP (1-3).
Adams, Malloy propel Roadrunners past UTEP in five-set thriller
SAN ANTONIO — Junior McKenzie Adams posted a double-double of 20 digs and 19 kills, senior Brittney Malloy collected a double-double of 18 winners and 10 blocks and UTSA rallied for a five-set victory against UTEP (23-25, 25-19, 25-11, 16-25, 15-13) in Saturday's finale of the UTSA Classic.
Malloy hit at a match-high .654 in her 26 swings to bolster the Roadrunners (5-2) attack. Meanwhile, junior Brandy Huskey handed out a season-high 59 assists in leading the Birds to a .247 hitting percentage. Freshman Annie Kunes chipped in with 17 digs.
The Miners (1-4) were limited to a .133 hitting percentage, but they received 15 winners from Jeane Horton. Malia Patterson added a double-double of 47 assists and 14 digs.
After the Miners won the opening set, UTSA bounced back to win the following two to take the lead. However, UTEP led wire-to-wire in the fourth frame to tie the contest.
The Roadrunners raced out to a 5-0 advantage in the final stanza behind stellar serving from freshman Erin Foley. However, the Miners rattled off an 8-3 spurt to tie things up. The two teams then split the next eight points before back-to-back kills by Malloy and Adams gave UTSA a two-point advantage. After UTEP earned a point on a service error, Huskey set up Adams for the final winner of the night.
UTSA will return to action on Friday, Sept. 7, when it travels to Houston (1-5) for a 7 p.m. contest.