SAN ANTONIO – UTSA volleyball doused UAB in straight sets (25-13, 25-21, 21-17) at the Convocation Center Sunday.
The Roadrunners improved to 12-7 overall and 5-1 in Conference USA extending their home-winning streak to five matches, while the Blazers dropped to 10-8, including 2-3 in league action.
Sophomore Kirby Smith registered a game-high 13 kills, adding six digs and two services aces. Freshman Bianca Ejesieme followed up her record-setting performance last time out, hitting .455 (11-1-22). Classmate Courtney Walters assisted on 37 of the team's 43, tacking on nine digs and one ace. She converted four of 11 attacks without an error.
Senior Kara Teal hit .545 (7-1-11) and sophomore Hannah Lopez posted a .294 hitting percentage (7-2-17). Sophomore Emily Ramirez, who ranks in the top-20 in service aces, upped her total with three, while leading both sides with 12 digs. Sophomore chipped in with 11 digs.
UTSA cruised to victory with multiple runs throughout the match. The Roadrunners earned 20 more serves, converting 66 percent (35-53) of their side-out opportunities, while UAB earned points on 45 percent (33-73) of the time when the home side held serve.
Trailing 4-5 in game one, UTSA utilized two spurts of five-straight points, building a 21-10 edge. Smith recorded three kills, while Teal and Ramirez added one each, forcing a UAB timeout at 9-5. The break in the action did little to slow down the Roadrunners, turning a slim 12-9 edge into an 11-point cushion with a 9-1 spurt. Kills by Smith and Ejesieme and three miscues by the guests clinched the early 1-0 advantage.
In the second game, UAB sparked an early rally holding a 5-1 margin but the Roadrunners clawed back into the match and evened things at 12-12 on a kill by Smith. Knotted at 14-14, successful attacks by Walters and Teal sandwiched around consecutive aces by Ramirez forced a timeout by the visitors. Tied at 21 all, three attack errors by UAB positioned the home side with four set points. Lopez sealed the deal on the first attempt and the teams went to intermission with UTSA holding a 2-0 lead.
UAB failed to hold the lead in the third game but kept things close, knotting the score at 1-1, 4-4 and 11-11. The Roadrunners extinguished any hope of a comeback with a 14-6 burst to close out the match. During the final push, UTSA inked runs of 5-0, 3-0, 2-0 and 2-0 .
The Roadrunners embark on a two-game road trip, beginning at Southern Miss at 6 p.m. Friday.
- UTSA -
