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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Junior Kara Teal collected 13 kills in 17 swings to lead UTSA volleyball to a four-set win (25-17, 25-20, 19-25, 25-16) at UAB, on Sunday afternoon at Bartow Arena.
UTSA (12-5, 4-1 Conference USA) cruised to a two-set lead before dropping the third set to UAB (10-9, 2-2 C-USA). The Roadrunners answered with a run in the middle of the fourth set to finish off a win, getting strong outings from Teal and double-doubles from freshmen Hannah Lopez and Kirby Smith.
The Roadrunners have started with at least a 4-1 league record in each season since 2007 while competing in the Southland Conference.
Teal finished with 13 kills in 17 attack, hitting .647 and adding three blocks. Smith added 13 kills, 18 digs and four service aces, with Lopez adding 11 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Hannah Froeschl finished with 10 kills and junior Brianna McCulloch had eight kills. Senior Amanda Gonzales had a team-high 28 assists, freshman Mia Perales had 20 assists and senior Shelby Williams had 13 digs.
UTSA will return to action on Friday, hosting FIU at 7 p.m. CT at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners couldn't have asked for a better start to the first set, taking seven of the first eight points behind big swings from Lopez and Teal. UTSA stretched its lead to 11-4 after a Teal ace and Smith snapped a run with her third kill to give UTSA a 12-6 lead. That sparked a 5-0 run and UAB used its second timeout with the Roadrunners owning a 16-6 lead after a Smith ace. Madeline McKay smashed a kill for a 19-9 lead and UTSA built its lead to 24-16 after a Froeschl kill. Froeschl finished off the win with a kill at 25-17.
UTSA opened the set with the first four points, building a 7-2 lead behind strong service efforts from Gonzales and Lopez. The lead grew to 12-6 before UAB rallied to cut the lead to 13-10 and 14-13. Consecutive points from Froeschl and Teal sparked a 4-0 run with UTSA taking a 18-13 lead it wouldn't surrender. Leading 23-15, UAB cut the lead to 23-20 before Smith and Lopez smashed kills to finish the win.
Three UTSA attacking errors opened the first seven points of the third set as UAB took a 5-2 lead. UTSA used a 7-0 run to take a 10-6 lead after a UAB timeout, getting big kills from McCulloch, Smith and Teal. UAB used a 13-2 run to take a 20-13 lead with UTSA committing nine errors during the stretch. Despite a late 4-0 run from the Runners, UAB used two straight to finish a 25-19 win.
UAB opened the fourth set on a furious run, taking six of the first seven points as UTSA committed four errors. The Roadrunners rallied to cut the lead to 7-5 and evened it at nine after an ace from Smith. Two straight aces from Williams gave UTSA a 12-10 lead as the teams traded points with the set tied at 14. UTSA finished on a furry, taking nine of the next 11 points to win the set and the match, getting big swings from Froeschl, Lopez and Smith to finish the victory.
- UTSA -
