HATTIESBURG, Miss. - For a fifth consecutive season UTSA volleyball (3-10, 1-0 C-USA) opened Conference USA action with a victory, this year defeating Southern Miss, 3-1 (25-21, 23-25,25-18,25-18) on Sunday afternoon. The Roadrunners have triumphed in every C-USA opener since joining the conference in 2013.
Senior Marijeta Runjic had a match-high 24 kills to claim her second 20-plus kill performance this season. Joining Runjic in double figures with 22 winners was Brianna McCulloch. The sophomore also added a team-best 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Assisting the victorious offense was setter Amanda Gonzales, who posted a match-high 52 assists.
Defensively, the Roadrunners were paced by Kara Teal and Megan Slan. Teal registered a team-best three solo blocks while Slan chipped in two solo blocks and two assisted blocks.
Southern Miss (10-7, 1-1 C-USA) jumped on top early in the opening set that featured 9 ties before the final decision was reached. The Roadrunners hit .205, while the Golden Eagles were not far behind with a .152 attack percentage. With the stanza tied at 19, five kills from Runjic secured the back-and-forth battle for UTSA.
The Roadrunners opened the second set with a 10-9 lead, but allowed the Golden Eagles to go on a 5-2 run to take control of the frame. UTSA would battle back to tie the set at 20 and 22, but Southern Miss would ultimately take the second frame to tie the match.
UTSA reclaimed the advantage in the third set.
After each team traded points, the Birds used an 8-2 run to take a 21-15 lead. The Roadrunners scored four of the next seven points, securing the set off a kill from Runjic.
UTSA kept the momentum rolling in the decisive fourth panel by netting the stanza's first three points and never looking back. The Birds hit a solid .258 with McCulloch and Runjic tallying seven and five winners, respectively. Defensively, UTSA held the Golden Eagles to a .000 performance, as the Golden Eagles posted 11 attack errors.
UTSA returns to conference play with a road trip to Denton on Friday, Sept. 29 for a 7 p.m. match against North Texas.
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