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SAN MARCOS, Texas -- A double-double from freshman Kirby Smith helped lead UTSA volleyball to a four-set win (25-16, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21) over Abilene Christian, on Friday afternoon in the second day of Texas State's Creeds & Crests Classic at the Strahan Coliseum at the University Events Center.
UTSA (4-1) bounced back after its first loss of the year on Thursday night at Texas State. The Roadrunners cruised to the first two sets before dropping the third and answering with a strong start to a fourth-set win.
Brianna McCulloch led the way offensively with 15 kills, with Smith owning 11 kills, 11 digs and a career-best six service aces. Sophomore Hannah Froeschl and junior Kara Teal each had nine kills, with senior Amanda Gonzalez adding 27 assists and freshman Mia Perales owning 22 assists. UTSA senior Shelby Williams had 20 digs and five service aces.
In the first set, the teams traded the first 14 points, with UTSA earning kills from Smith, Montse Castro and Madelyn McKay. A 3-0 run from UTSA led to a 12-8 lead after the first kill from Teal, with UTSA racing out to a 16-10 lead and forcing a timeout from ACU. The Roadrunners kept the Wildcats at least six behind before finishing the first-set with at 25-16 after a furious block from Teal. The Runners hit .241 in the set, with 18 digs, a pair of service aces and 12 assists.
Froeschl opened the second set with her third kill as the teams traded the first four points before a 2-0 run led to a 4-2 UTSA lead. The Wildcats answered with a quick 2-0 run before McKay smashed her third kill to regain the lead. After ACU took a 6-5 lead, UTSA raced out on a 4-0 stretch behind a pair of aces from Williams, two kills from Teal and one from Smith. Smith and Froeschl's team-high fourth kills saw the lead upped to 12-8. Froeschl snapped a 4-0 ACU run with her fifth kill to regain the lead at 13-12. McCulloch's fifth kill saw UTSA take a 14-13 lead but the teams traded points until a kill from Castro at the net. The third ace from Williams in the set extended the run to 3-0 and saw an 18-15 lead. A notable, face-high dig from Williams led to a kill from Smith and a 20-17 lead and Smith's first ace of the match stretched the lead to 22-18 and forced an ACU timeout. Teal's kill at the net helped push UTSA to a 24-20 lead with Froeschl finishing off the win at 25-20.
After swapping the first eight points of the set, Abilene Christian (2-4) took a 6-4 lead before McCulloch's seventh termination cut it to one. A kill from Hannah Lopez, who entered to play the third set, cut the lead to 8-6. Consecutive points cut the ACU lead to 9-8, including a kill from Natalya Chatham. An ace from Smith evened the match at 10 and UTSA used kills from McCulloch to keep the match even at 12. Chatham's right-handed termination at the net evened it at 14 before a 2-0 run – behind an ace from Williams and a soft kill from Teal – stretched UTSA's lead to 17-15. ACU used a 4-0 run to take a 19-17 lead and was able to fight off a UTSA charge in the set to post a 25-21 win.
UTSA opened the fourth set with the first seven points, behind a serving run from Smith. The Roadrunners stretched their lead to 11-4 and forced a timeout from ACU. Three kills from Smith saw the Roadrunners take a 15-8 lead. Kills from Smith and McCulloch lifted the Runners to a 17-10 lead. ACU cut the lead to five before McKay finished her fourth termination. Freshman Kenedi Rutherford got on the board with her first kill as the Roadrunners took a 21-16 lead. The Runners earned their final four points to finish off a 25-21 win.
UTSA will wrap up its stay in the Creeds & Crests Classic in San Marcos with a 4:30 p.m. CT match vs. UIW.
- GO UTSA -
