Bowling Green, Ky. — A double-double from first team All-Conference honoree Marijeta Runjic and a career performance form Natalya Chatham gave fourth-seeded UTSA the dominance to outplay No.5 FAU in the opening round of this weekend's Conference USA Tournament, as the Roadrunners picked up a four-set victory (25-19,15-16, 11-25, 25-18) Friday night at E.A. Diddle Arena.
UTSA (12-15) now will face top-seeded North Texas on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.
Runjic guided the Roadrunners with a match-high 20 winners while adding 11 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Chatham followed with a career-best 14 kills and added a team-best six blocks. Meanwhile, junior Amanda Gonzales picked up 39 assists and sophomores Emily Ramirez and Brianna Hudson notched 12 digs apiece.
FAU (18-9) was led by Sydney Nemtuda with 17 kills and Ivonne Martinez handed out a match-high 43 helpers.
Both teams fought hard in the first set as the score tied on 10 occasions. UTSA finally gained some momentum after a tie at 15 as it rattled off a 7-2 run to lead 20-16. The Roadrunners held on and used back-to-back kills from Runjic to spark a 4-0 run to claim the first set.
UTSA maintained its control through the second frame as the Roadrunners dominated the Owls along the net with a .375 hitting percentage while forcing eight FAU errors. Fueled by a quartet of kills from Runjic and Chatham, the Roadrunners opened the frame with 7-1 edge and maintained the lead the rest of the way for the 25-16 victory.
FAU extended the match after claiming the third set 25-11. UTSA was held to a match-low -.049 attack percentage, as the Roadrunner trailed for the entire frame.
Relentless, UTSA regrouped for a decisive fourth set that saw the Roadrunners break out with a 4-1 run after being tied at 15. Powered by a match-high .400 hitting percentage, the Roadrunners utilized 14 kills from Chatham and Runjic to seal the set and the victory.
With the win, UTSA moves to 7-0 against the Owls including a 2-0 record against FAU in the C-USA Tournament.
