MIAMI – Freshman Hunter Coppola's career day fuels UTSA's 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21) comeback victory over FIU at Ocean Bank Arena Sunday.
Coppola set career-highs in kills (17), attempts (46), block assists (5) and total blocks (5) as the Roadrunners improved to 14-10 overall and 7-4 in Conference USA play. The Panthers drop to 9-14, including 2-9 in league play.
Hannah Lopez (15), Bianca Ejesieme (12) and Kara Teal (11) joined Coppola with double-digit kills. Teal becomes the sixth Roadrunner to amass at least 700 kills in the 25-point rally era, while Lopez added 14 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.
Courtney Walters dished out 42 assists, pacing the offense to a .284 hitting percentage. Mia Perales chipped in 18 helpers.
Teal joined Coppola with five block assists and added one solo, while Ejesieme contributed three.
After 10 ties and the lead changing hand three times, FIU scored six of the final 10 points and grabbed the early 1-0 lead. UTSA staved off two-set points and cut the deficit one on a kill by Coppola but the lone service error of the opening game by the Roadrunners ended the rally and game.
A second tightly contested set before intermission featured nine draws and four lead changes but it was the guests that came out on top.
Knotted at 22-22 after a service error by the Panthers Sidney Henderson, Coppola and Ejesieme pushed the Roadrunners to set point. Fiorella trimmed the lead to 24-23 with a kill but she followed with an attacking miscue and the teams went to intermission at one-game apiece.
Over the final two stanzas, UTSA cranked up the offense and defense and controlled most of the play. The team's combined for eight ties and three lead changes over that stretch.
Madeline McKay and Coppola smashed home back-to-back kills, giving the visitors a 10-8 edge in the third frame. The Roadrunners kept FIU at bay and turned away any rally, including a 3-0 spurt to close the game. Holding a tenuous 22-21 cushion, UTSA burnt a timeout, trying to extinguish a 6-0 rally by the home side. Ejesieme and Teal answered with consecutive kills and a miscue by the Panthers secured the 2-1 advantage.
Ejesieme's successful kill at 16-16 put the Roadrunners in front for good. Lopez salted away the victory with the final two kills.
UTSA returns to San Antonio for its final two home matches of 2019, beginning with Middle Tennessee November 10 at 12 p.m. In a pre-match ceremony, seniors Montse Castro, Emily Ramirez, Brianna McCulloch and Teal for their contributions to the program.
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