SAN ANTONIO – Bianca Ejesieme had 17 kills, six digs and five blocks to help lead UTSA volleyball to a five-set win over UIW (25-20, 21-25, 15-25, 25-21, 15-13) in the home opener for the Roadrunners on Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (2-1) outlasted UIW (0-2) in a cross-town matchup, as the Roadrunners claimed the first set before dropping the following two. UTSA bounced back to force the fifth set with a four-point win in the fourth and claimed the five-set victory with a 15-13 result.
Ejesieme, a native of Rowlett, Texas, totaled 17 kills on 30 attacks – good for a .367 hitting percentage – while adding six digs and five blocks. She was one of four Roadrunners with double-figure kills, as Hunter Coppola turned in a 15-kill, eight-dig effort.
Kirby Smith, the 2018 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, had 13 kills, seven digs and four assists – including finishing the match on a run of six consecutive attacks without an error. Jessica Langridge, a native of Flower Mound, Texas, had 13 kills and four blocks.
Mia Ybarra, who prepped at San Antonio's Clark High School, led UTSA with 19 digs.
Setting dynamo Courtney Walters had 45 assists, eight digs and four service aces, adding two kills. UTSA also got six kills from Skyeler Embry and 11 assists from setter Mia Perales, who added two digs.
Freshman Kelsey Carpenter made her collegiate debut with a kill and a dig. Junior Alison Jennings had a block and Alexis Pratt finished with five digs.
UTSA hit .253 in the win, with nine aces. UIW finished with a .295 hitting percentage, with seven aces.
Bethany Clapp led UIW with 22 kills on 38 attacks.
The Roadrunners will return to action on Thursday and Friday vs. SMU in Dallas, with both matches live on ESPN+.
Spring 🏐 never felt so good.
— UTSA Volleyball (@UTSAvolleyball) January 31, 2021
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UTSA claimed the first set behind a late rally, as the teams traded points for much of the set before UTSA ripped off 6-2 run to close the set with a 25-20 win.
The Roadrunners scored the first four points of the second set before UIW got on the board. UTSA took the lead to 17-14 before a 3-0 run from UIW evened the set at 17. UTSA spurted out to a 19-17 lead before UIW scored three of the next four points to take a 21-20 lead - its first of the set - and force a timeout from Coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff. The Cardinals scored the next two points for a 23-20 lead. The Cardinals finished off the set with a 25-21 win.
Ejesieme got the third set started with a right-handed kill, her 12th of the match but the Cardinals ripped off nine consecutive points to take a large early lead, forcing a pair of timeouts from Neugebauer-Groff. The Cards finished off the win to take a 2-1 lead.
UIW score the first two points of the fourth set before UTSA rallied to take a 6-5 lead. UIW took its first lead of the set at 14-13 and evened it at 15. Mia Ybarra's ace helped UTSA got on a 5-2 run to take a 20-16 lead. After UIW cut the lead to 22-20, UTSA spent its first timeout of the set. Hunter Coppola's 11th kill gave us a 24-21 lead and UTSA finished it off to force the fifth set.
UTSA opened the fifth set with seven of the first 10 points to force a UIW timeout. The Roadrunners used a block from Ejesieme and Langridge, and a kill from Ejesieme to take an 8-4 lead. Smith's 12th kill gave UTSA a 10-7 lead. UTSA took a 13-11 lead, behind a monster swing from Langridge, before UIW used its last timeout of the set.
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