BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — UTSA bounced back after its opening set loss to take the last three sets and defeat UAB 3-1 (20-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-16) Friday night at Bartow Arena.
Kasey Kiefer led the team with a season-high 16 kills and added four digs, while Marijeta Rujic registered a .500 hitting percentage on 14 kills and 26 attempts.
Meanwhile, Emily Ramirez led the team in digs with 10 and notched a season-best of four aces that contributed toward the team's total of 12, which matches a season-high for the Roadrunners.
As a team, UTSA hit .336 and hit .300 or better in three of four sets over the course of the match. The Roadrunners had five players notch a .300 or better percentage.
Helping the Roadrunners offense was Jessica Waldrip as she tallied 39 assists and chipped in with three kills, eight digs and a pair of blocks.
After UTSA (16-5, 7-2 C-USA) dropped the first set 25-20, the team started the second stanza on an 8-2 run that caused UAB to use its first timeout. The Roadrunners lead held the rest of the way for a 25-13 win.
Momentum carried into the third set as the Roadrunners quickly jumped to an 11-5 lead on the second straight kill by Kiefer. UTSA got to set point on a block by Tessa Dahnert and Waldrip but was held off until three rallies later as Runjic secured the win on a kill.
UAB (11-15, 3-7 C-USA) did not go down without a fight as they took an early lead in the fourth set at the 5-1 mark. UTSA called for a timeout that would work in its favor as the Roadrunners scored seven of the next 10 points to tie the score at eight.
The Blazers eventually came back to tie the score at 10-all but an 8-1 run by UTSA put the Roadrunners up 18-11 for a lead that would hold the rest of the way.
UTSA will close out the weekend in Ruston, La. as the Roadrunners face Louisiana Tech (10-15, 1-8 C-USA) on Sunday, Oct. 30, at 1 p.m.
