SAN ANTONIO — No. 3 seed UTSA used a balanced effort to sweep sixth-seeded San Jose State in Monday's opening quarterfinal of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, which is being played at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners (21-8) won their eighth consecutive contest by scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20.
Junior McKenzie Adams notched her team-leading 20th double-double of the season with a match-high 13 kills to go along with 15 digs and a .310 hitting percentage. Junior Brandy Huskey guided UTSA to a .368 hitting percentage after handing out 35 assists, while senior Whitney Walls logged 10 winners and freshman Annie Kunes led all players with 18 digs.
The Spartans (14-16), who were limited to a .094 hitting percentage, received 13 kills from Hanah Blume and 27 assists from Michaela Leonard.
The Birds wasted no time getting an early advantage, winning the first two sets and committing only four attack errors.
Adams fueled UTSA's opening-frame victory by netting seven winners and leading the Roadrunners to a .417 hitting percentage. Walls had the hot hand in the second set, knocking down four kills on a .429 clip, while Adams spearheaded the defensive effort with seven digs.
Sophomore Dempsey Thornton led UTSA in a comeback effort in the third and final stanza with six kills.
After the Birds opened a 6-2 lead, San Jose State rallied with a 9-2 run. However, UTSA was up to the challenge, as it won 17 of the final 26 points for its 11th sweep of the fall.
The Roadrunners will take on No. 2 Idaho (16-13) at 4 p.m. in Tuesday's first semifinal. The teams split their previous two meetings this season.