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WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Trailing by six in the fourth set, UTSA volleyball mounted a furious rally to come-from-behind to earn a four-set, season-opening win (22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-23) over the University of San Francisco, on Friday evening in West Point, N.Y., on the campus of Army West Point.
San Francisco (1-1) found itself leading by as many as six in the fourth set, with the Dons seeking to force a fifth game. UTSA (1-0) went on a 12-4 run to finish off the fourth set and earn the win.
Freshman Hannah Lopez starred for the Roadrunners in her collegiate debut, earning 13 kills – all coming in the first three sets. UTSA also got a 52-assist outing from senior Amanda Gonzales. Hannah Froeschl and Kara Teal each had 10 kills, with freshman Kirby Smith adding 13 digs and nine kills. Mia Ybarra led the team with 18 digs, with Shelby Wiliams adding 11 digs and a game-clinching service ace.
The teams opened the match by trading the first 20 points, with UTSA earning kills from Froeschl, McCulloch, Teal and two from Castro. After USF took a 12-11 lead, Lopez smashed her second career kill to even it back to 12. After trading more points, McCulloch broke a 15-all tie with her second kill to give the Roadrunners the lead. The Dons answered to notch the next four points and force the first timeout of the match for Coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff. The Roadrunners responded with the next two points. UTSA rallied to take a late lead behind a service ace from Dominguez. After UTSA took a 22-21 lead, the Dons notched the final four points to earn the first-set win.
UTSA came out strong in the second set, taking a 7-3 lead behind back-to-back kills from Lopez. After a kill from Kirby Smith, the Roadrunners extended their lead to 9-5 and recorded the first timeout of the match from USF. A pair of Smith services led to three straight points for the Roadrunners who took a 16-9 lead and forced a timeout from the Dons. UTSA expanded its lead to 18-8 and was able to fight off a late charge from the Dons to finish off a 25-20 win to even the sets.
The Roadrunners were strong to open the third, taking a 9-3 lead after three straight kills from Teal, with USF calling its first timeout of the set. UTSA notched eight of the next 13 points to build a 17-8 lead as the Dons called timeout. With a 22-9 lead, UTSA saw USF fight back into the set with four straight points to force a UTSA timeout. UTSA was able to finish off the 25-22 win to take a 2-1 lead.
USF took an early lead in the fourth set, notching the first three points before UTSA was able to claw back to 4-3. After a Lopez service ace cut the lead to 7-6 the Dons extended their lead to 12-7 and force a UTSA timeout. After seeing the Dons extend their lead to five at 18-13, UTSA called timeout. Out of the break, UTSA wouldn't quit, fighting back to force a USF timeout with the Dons leading 22-21. Teal gave UTSA its first lead of the fourth set with a kill to put the Roadrunners up 24-23. After the second USF timeout, Williams connected on a service ace to end the match.
UTSA will return to action on Saturday, facing Quinnipiac at 1:30 p.m. CT in West Point, N.Y., before facing host Army at 6 p.m.
- GO UTSA -
