TULSA, Okla. – UTSA won the Tulsa Invitational with a five-set victory over Houston Baptist at the Reynolds Center Saturday.
Winners of three straight, the Roadrunners moved to 5-4 with the 3-2 (25-14, 18-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-9) win, while the Huskies fall to 6-5. This is the first five-set match of the season for the Roadrunners.
In the back-and-forth affair, UTSA never trailed, grabbing 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 advantages by claiming victories in the first, third and fifth games.
The Roadrunners jumped out early and led 6-0 in game one and withstood a rally that trimmed the margin to 16-13, before back-to-back kills by Kirby Smith and a service ace by Emily Ramirez forced a Huskies' timeout. The stoppage failed to slow the Roadrunners down as they closed with six of the final seven tallies.
HBU responded with a 6-1 spurt to begin game two and never trailed en route to a seven-point victory, evening the match at one game apiece.
After intermission, the teams traded tallies, with UTSA holding an 8-7 edge. Several miscues by the Huskies, two kills each by Smith and Jenna Patton and a Smith ace provided the Roadrunners with an eight-point cushion at 17-9. A kill by Hannah Lopez clinched the set and pushed the squad closer to the match victory.
The Huskies extended the match with a hard-fought fourth game that featured seven ties and two lead changes. Neither side held more than a two-point advantage until a late push by HBU. Leading 18-15, the Huskies outscored UTSA 8-5 to force a fifth game.
Dropping four of the first five points, the Roadrunners grabbed the lead at 5-4 with a four-straight points. Leading 8-5 when the teams switched sides, UTSA fed off the momentum and secured the victory with an error by the opposition.
Brianna McCulloch and Kirby Smith led the Roadrunners with 11 kills each while Hannah Lopez and Jenna Patton chipped in 10 a piece. Smith finished with a double-double, adding 10 digs. Patton's career-best came on 18 attempts with three errors for a .389 hitting percentage.
Courtney Walters posted her second career double-double with 19 assists and 11 digs. Emily Ramirez finished with a team-high 16 digs, while Lydia Niebla totaled 10.
Mia Perales matched Walters with 19 assists for UTSA, while adding five digs.
The Roadrunners hosts UIW at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
