SAN ANTONIO — UTSA opened its fourth season in Conference USA with a sweep of Southern Miss (25-20, 25-21, 26-24) on Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (10-3, 1-0 C-USA) extended its win streak to seven consecutive matches and kept its flawless series record against Southern Miss, 8-0.
Leading the charge for the Roadrunners was Marijeta Runjic, who had 13 kills and a .323 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, Jessica Waldrip recorded 33 of the team's 36 assists and added a pair of aces with four digs and three blocks.
Stephany Purdue paced the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (12-5, 1-1 C-USA) with 16 kills and was a dig shy of a double-double with nine.
The Roadrunners opened up its only action of the week with a 25-20 win. UTSA held Southern Miss to a -.062 attack percentage as the Golden Eagles committed 12 miscues just in the first set.
Southern Miss stepped it up in the second set and even led at the 13-12 mark. The Roadrunners regained control of the stanza three later and pulled away for the 25-21 win.
The Golden Eagles attempted to take the match into four sets in the third after kills by Kylie Grady and Stephany Purdue, along with a ball handling error, tied the score at 24-all. On the following serve, USM hit one out of bounds to give UTSA the 25-24 advantage. On the following rally, Waldrip connected with Antonela Jularic and the sophomore secured the 26-24 win with a kill that was hit out by the Golden Eagles.
UTSA will continue its five-match home stand next week when the Roadrunners host North Texas (6-10, 0-1 C-USA) at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30.
