SAN ANTONIO -- The UTSA volleyball team fell in five sets (23-25, 25-21, 19-25, 27-25, 13-15) to North Texas in the league opener for the Roadrunners, on Saturday night at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (2-5, 0-1 Conference USA) fell to North Texas (3-4, 1-2 C-USA) in its league lid-lifter. The Roadrunners and the Mean Green were slated to play on Sunday and Monday but the threat of cold temperatures in South Texas on Monday forced a rescheduling of the contest for Saturday night following UTSA's basketball win over Florida Atlantic at the Convocation Center.
The Mean Green outlasted UTSA in the first set, 25-23, before the Roadrunners evened it up with a 25-21 win in the second. UNT took a lead with a 25-19 win in the third and the Roadrunners forced a fifth set with a 27-25 win in the fourth.
Kirby Smith, the 2019 C-USA Freshman of the Year, led UTSA with a double-double, going for 19 kills, 16 digs and two blocks. Sophomore Hunter Coppola added 11 kills and four blocks.
Sophomore setter Courtney Walters had a double-double with 42 assists and 12 digs, adding four kills. Libero Mia Ybarra had a team-leading 28 digs.
The Roadrunners hit .152 in the loss, with UNT hitting for a .147 percentage.
The series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m. in a match broadcast live on CUSA TV.
The teams traded points in the first set, with it even at five and 10 before UTSA ripped off a 4-0 run to take a 14-10 lead behind a Langridge kill. After Bianca Ejesieme's kill gave UTSA a 16-14 lead, the Mean Green scored six of the next seven for a 20-17 lead, forcing a timeout from UTSA. The Roadrunners rallied to cut the lead to 22-20 and force a UNT timeout. The Roadrunners rallied to even it at 22 after the timeout and again at 23 before UNT made it to set point and finished off the win with a block assist.
With the second set even at 12, UNT scored five of the next eight points to take a 17-15 lead. Smith evened the set up with her seventh kill at 17 and Alison Jennings and Kelsey Carpenter combined on a block to give UTSA an 18-17 lead. UTSA's run continued to 3-0 as UTSA built a 20-17 lead. Carpenter's kill gave UTSA a 21-17 lead. Coppola's fifth kill gave UTSA a 23-19 lead. Coppola finished off the set with a 25-21 win with her seventh kill.
After the match was evened at seven, UTSA ripped off four of the next five points to take an 11-8 lead and force a Mean Green timeout. UNT answered with the next three points before an error gave UTSA a 12-11 lead. After Ejesieme's sixth kill, UNT notched the next three points for an 18-15 lead, forcing a timeout from Coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff. The Mean Green were able to finish of the set with a 25-19 win.
UTSA took a 7-6 lead early in the fourth set, building a 17-14 lead before UNT took a timeout. UNT cut into the UTSA lead, narrowing it to 18-17 before a UTSA timeout. UNT score the next three points for a 20-18 lead but UTSA was able to fight back to claim the 27-25 win to force a fifth.
UNT opened the fifth set with three of the first four points before a kill from Smith – her 17th – cut the lead to 3-2. Smith's 18th kill evened it at 3-3 and after the match was evened at four, UNT scored the next two points for a lead, prompting a timeout from UTSA. The Mean Green took the lead to 7-3 before UTSA ripped off three straight, before taking a 9-6 lead on a service ace from Kasey Bortnem. UNT was the first to 10, taking a 10-7 lead, building it to 12-9 before a Ejesieme kill forced a UNT timeout. UTSA cut the lead to 14-13 before a service error ended the match.
- UTSA -
