DALLAS –UTSA volleyball opened the season 0-2 after dropping a pair of matches on the first day of the SMU Doubletree Invitational at Moody Coliseum.
Freshman Courtney Walters registered a double-double (41 sets, 11 digs) in her first collegiate match but it was not enough as the Roadrunners fell in the season opener against Stephen F. Austin 3-1 (20-25, 29-27, 14-25, 17-25). In the night cap, the host team, SMU, (2-0) swept UTSA 3-0 (13-25, 19-25, 19-25).
Stephen F. Austin and the Roadrunners traded wins in the first two sets before the Ladyjacks claimed victories in sets three and four to secure the victory.
After a back-and-forth affair in set one, Stephen F. Austin closed with a late run to grab a 1-0 advantage. The teams engaged in a nip-and-tuck battle through the early part of the set and battled to a 14-14 tie. Courtesy of a 10-2 run, Stephen F. Austin needed one point to claim victory but the Roadrunners fought back with four points in succession to close within four at 24-20, forcing the Ladyjacks to stymie the momentum with a timeout. On the first play after the break in the action, Sheretta Hill executed a successful attack and handing Stephen F. Austin the set.
Falling behind 11-4 in the second set, UTSA rallied to force a tie at 24-24. The Roadrunners grabbed their first advantage in the set at 25-24 but the teams traded the next five points and were deadlocked at 27-27. Capitalizing on back-to-back attacking errors by the Ladyjacks, UTSA completed its comeback with a 29-27 victory, knotting the five-set match at one a piece.
Stephen F. Austin built an 11-4 advantage in the third set but unlike the previous set, UTSA did not have an answer.
In the fourth and final set, the Roadrunners kept things close early, trailing 9-7 before the Ladyjacks went on a 9-3 run to build a commanding 18-10 cushion. The teams played even the rest of the way but Xariah Williams' kill closed the match for SFA.
SMU struck quick and built a 6-1 lead, forcing a timeout by UTSA in the opening set. The Roadrunners responded by scoring four of the next five points and trimming the deficit to two. The Mustangs countered with a 11-4 run, forcing a second stoppage in the action by UTSA, trailing 18-9. SMU continued to roll and grabbed a 1-0 lead with a 25-13 victory.
Set two was tightly contested, with neither side holding more than a four-point cushion until the hosts rattled 10 of the final 14 points. Both sides traded leads with SMU jumping out to a 4-0 edge. UTSA claimed its largest edge at 12-9 but a 6-3 spurt by the Mustangs evened the score at 15-15 before their final push.
In the clincher, SMU built a 5-1 lead with the Roadrunners fighting back to even the score at 8-8. SMU netted the next two points and held off UTSA the rest of the way, answering any attempt of a rally by the Roadrunners.
UTSA returns to the court at 11 a.m. Saturday against Bradley in the final match of tournament for both squads.
