HOUSTON – UTSA falls in straight sets for just the second time this season, as No. 21 Rice earned a 3-0 (19-25, 13-25, 21-25) win at Tudor Fieldhouse Friday.
The Roadrunners fall to 9-7 overall and 2-1 in Conference USA, while the Owls move to 14-1, including unblemished in three league matches.
Hannah Lopez led UTSA with nine kills, while Kara Teal converted six of her eight opportunities. Courtney Walters produced 16 of the team's 28 assists and Emily Ramirez finished with 11 digs.
UTSA answered most of the Owls runs in the early going, evening the set on four-separate occasions, before the hosts netted 11 of the final 16 points. After digging out of an early hole to knot the first game at 14-14, UTSA allowed Rice to slowly pull away and grab the early 1-0 advantage.
The Owls jumped in front early in game two, building a five-point advantage at 9-4. Following the Roadrunners timeout, they capitalized on four miscues by the home side in succession and trailed by one at 9-8. That was as close as UTSA got the rest of the game, as Rice closed with a 14-5 run, including seven of the final eight tallies.
With five ties and two lead changes, game three was the most tightly contested game. UTSA registered its first lead of the match at 2-1 on an Emily Ramirez service ace. Knotted at 5-5, Hannah Lopez smashed home a kill - handing her teammates a 6-5 advantage – the last lead of the day for the Roadrunners. Despite alternating runs, the visitors failed to provide enough offense and failing to avoid the sweep.
UTSA wraps up the weekend with UTEP in El Paso at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Roadrunners rallied from a 1-0 deficit Sept. 29 and claimed a 3-1 home win against the Miners.
