SAN ANTONIO – Texas State won their 25th match in 27 outings during the 2020-21 season, topping UTSA volleyball in four sets (23-25, 21-25, 26-24, 22-25) on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (2-4) couldn't spring the upset on Texas State (25-2, 15-1 Sun Belt Conference), as the Bobcats opened their spring portion of the 2020-21 schedule. Texas State won the Sun Belt in the fall with a 15-1 record and ascended to No. 11 in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association top-15 poll in the fall.
After falling in tight sets to open the match in the first and second, UTSA used a furious rally from Kirby Smith to close the third and force a fourth set. The Roadrunners owned a 17-12 lead in the fourth before the Cats rallied to even it at 20. The Cats scored five of the final seven points to finish off the four-set win.
Smith, a native of Plano, Texas, finished with her first double-double of the year, collecting a season-best 14 kills and 12 digs, with three service aces.
The Roadrunners were also led offensively by junior Alison Jennings, a transfer from Davidson, who had 10 kills in 20 attacks, good for a .400 hitting percentage. It equaled her career-high 10-kill performance vs. Elon in 2019 as a member of Davidson.
Sophomore Hunter Coppola added 11 kills, two digs and two blocks. Hannah Lopez, a product of San Antonio's Winston Churchill High School, had a kill and two digs. Freshman Amanda Ifeanyi, a native of The Woodlands, Texas, had three kills and three blocks.
A native of McKinney, Texas, sophomore setter Courtney Walters had a team-leading 42 assists, with eight digs, two blocks and four kills.
Junior libero Mia Ybarra, a product of San Antonio's Clark High School, led UTSA with 25 digs, owning a pair of service aces.
UTSA hit .184 as a team in the loss, with the Bobcats hitting .269 overall. Texas State saw Janell Fitzgerald lead the offense with 14 kills.
The Roadrunners will return to action on Sunday and Monday, playing host to North Texas in the league openers at the Convocation Center. Both matches are set for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on CUSA TV.
UTSA scored the first two points of the opening set and took the lead to 4-2 before the Bobcats evened the set at 5-5. The teams traded points, evening the match at six, eight, nine and again at 10 after a kill from Smith.
The Roadrunners ripped off a 3-0 run to take a 13-10 lead after Alison Jennings' third kill. The lead grew to 17-14 and forced a timeout from TXST head coach Sean Huiet. The Cats scored the next three to even the set at 17, with UTSA Coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff calling timeout.
Ejesieme's second kill gave UTSA an 18-17 lead out of the break and the teams traded points, evening the set at 18, 20 and 21. A service error gave the Cats a 22-21 lead and TXST was able to finish off the win with three of the next five points for the 25-23 win.
UTSA notched the first three points of the second set before the Bobcats evened it up at 5-5. The teams traded leads at seven, eight and nine, before a 3-0 run gave TXST a 12-9 lead. Ifeayni's first kill cut the lead to 12-10, Smith's fourth smash and Ejesieme's fourth cut the lead to 14-13.
The Bobcats extended the lead to 19-15 before Jennings' seven kill cut the lead to 19-16. The lead grew to four – at 21-17 and 22-18 before Smith's kill cut the lead to 22-19 but the Cats were able to finish off the win, 25-21.
Kills from Coppola and Smith led UTSA to a 4-0 lead to open the third set. A nice dig from Alexis Pratt kept a rally going as UTSA took a 5-1 lead. The Cats scored five of the next six points to even the set up at six. An error and a kill from Coppola saw UTSA take an 8-6 lead before the Bobcats ripped off a 3-0 lead for a 9-8 lead.
Maddie Thayer's sliding dig opened a rally that saw UTSA cut the lead to 10-9 after a kill from Smith, her seventh, and Ybarra's ace evened it at 10. The set was even at 11, 13, 14 and 16 before a kill from Ifeanyi gave UTSA a 17-16 lead. After taking a 18-16 lead, TXST ripped off three straight points to earn a 19-18 lead and force a UTSA timeout.
UTSA evened the third set at 21 after a long rally saw Smith finish her ninth kill, and an ace from Ybarra gave UTSA a 22-21 lead. Block assists from Jennings and Ejesieme stretch the lead to 23-21 and forced a Bobcats timeout.
The Cats scored the next two points to even it at 23 and Neugebauer-Groff called timeout. Ejesieme's eight kill gave UTSA set point at 24-23 but the Cats evened it at 24 on the next serve. Smith's 10th kill again gave UTSA set point and Smith's ace gave UTSA the third set and forced a fourth.
UTSA scored four of the first five points to open the fourth set. Coppola's ninth kill snapped a run from the Cats and gave UTSA a 5-4 lead. That sparked a 4-0 UTSA run, including a Thayer ace, that forced a timeout from the Cats with UTSA leading 8-4.
Thayer's second ace took the lead to 9-4 and the run to 5-0 before the Cats snapped the stretch. Coppola's 10th kill, Ifeanyi's third and an ace from Mia Perales gave UTSA a 15-9 lead. The lead grew to 17-12 for the Roadrunners before an attack error snapped a UTSA run. The Cats used five straight points to cut the lead to 17-16. Smith's kill gave UTSA a 20-17 lead before a block and a TXST kill cut the lead to 20-19. After a UTSA timeout, the Cats evened the set at 20 and took the lead at 21-20.
- UTSA -
