DALLAS — UTSA and TCU opened up the SMU Doubletree Invitational Friday with the Horned Frogs earning a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 15-25, 21-25) win, but the Roadrunners returned and won a hard fought battle with Clemson taking a 3-2 (25-13, 17-25, 25-14, 25-27, 15-6) victory to cap the day.
With the win over Clemson, head volleyball coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff is now two wins away from reaching the 500 career win plateau and marks the third Power 5 program the Roadrunners have defeated this season.
The Roadrunners will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 19, when they take on host SMU at 3:30 p.m. to wrap up the SMU Doubletree Invitational.
TCU 3, UTSA 1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-21)
After opening up the first set with a 25-18 win over TCU, the Roadrunners lost the following three sets to suffer a 3-1 decision to the Horned Frogs in the opening match of the SMU Doubletree Invitational.
UTSA (8-4) battled back from a four-point deficit halfway through the opening set and came back for the win. Trailing 14-10, the Roadrunners rattled off five consecutive points to take a 15-14 lead over the Horned Frogs.
TCU (9-1) answered back to knot the score but the Roadrunners held their ground and closed out the stanza on a 10-3 run, scoring the last five points of the frame.
In the second set, the Horned Frogs evened the match on a 25-23 win. The score bounced back-and-forth with each team trading points late through the set but an ace from Kaylee Smith and a huge kill from Natalie Gower put TCU in the driver’s seat for the victory.
The Roadrunners were held to sub-.100 hitting percentages the following two sets as the team dropped the third 25-15 and the fourth 25-21. Kasey Kiefer recorded four of her team-leading 12 kills in the third set.
In the final set, UTSA held a slight edge over TCU but after a tie at 15 on a kill from Kylie Schott, the Horned Frogs rolled off four straight points for a 20-16 lead. The Roadrunners managed to string along two points to come within two but were held off as TCU scored five of the last eight points of the stanza.
Ashley Smith led TCU with 16 kills, 12 digs and a pair of blocks.
UTSA 3, Clemson 2 (25-13, 17-25, 25-14, 25-27, 15-6)
Eleven days after upsetting the No. 12 Oregon Ducks, UTSA notched another win over a Power 5 program Friday afternoon as the Roadrunners picked up a 3-2 (25-13, 17-25, 25-14, 25-27, 15-6) win over Clemson.
UTSA (9-4) was off to a commanding start over Clemson (5-6) as the Roadrunners won the opening set 25-13. The Roadrunners hit a whopping .517 (16-1-29) and held the Tigers to a .117 attack percentage.
The Tigers would not go down without a fight and Clemson won the second set 25-17.
Each team would take turns winning a set as UTSA won the third and Clemson the fourth.
In the deciding set, the Roadrunners took the early lead and led 8-4 before both teams had to switch courts. Clemson came within two at the 8-6 mark, but the Roadrunners closed out the set scoring the final seven points to win 15-6.
Kasey Kiefer led the Roadrunners once again by matching her career-best of 18 kills to go with six digs.
Meanwhile, Antonela Jularic registered a season-best 14 kills to go along with 12 digs for her first career double-double. Marijeta Runjic added 13 kills with seven digs and six blocks.