SAN ANTONIO – Sitting just shy of the final spot for the Conference USA Championships, UTSA volleyball ventures to Birmingham, Ala., to face off with UAB in a pair of crucial matches, starting on Sunday at 1 p.m. and concluding on Monday at 11:30 a.m.
UTSA (6-10, 4-6 C-USA) sits just back from UTEP (4-4) and Southern Miss (4-4) for the fourth and final spot in the C-USA Western Division, with the top four from each division earning a berth in the C-USA Championships, hosted by Southern Miss. The Roadrunners split with USM last weekend at home, with UTEP owning a tiebreaker over UTSA with a sweep in El Paso. UTSA split with North Texas (4-6) in San Antonio earlier in the year.
The Roadrunners got a splendid weekend from junior Hannah Lopez in her return to the court full time last weekend. The product of San Antonio's Churchill High School had 18 kills in the opener and had a career-high 26 kills and 16 digs – hitting .344 – in a five-set matchup on Monday with the Golden Eagles. On the year, Lopez is hitting .239 with 2.05 kills and 2.03 digs per set.
UTSA has seen sophomore Bianca Ejesieme hit .204 with 2.31 kills per set, with Kirby Smith – the 2018 C-USA Freshman of the Year – hitting .115 with 2.70 kills and 2.84 digs per set.
Sophomore setter Courtney Walters has totaled 9.79 assists per set in 2021, adding 2.18 digs per set and a team-leading 22 service aces. Junior libero Mia Ybarra has totaled a team-leading 4.79 digs per set.
As a team, UTSA has hit .201 with 12.7 kills, 12 assists, 1.3 aces and 15.3 digs per set.
UAB (7-6, 6-4 C-USA) is coming off a split on March 7-8 at Southern Miss, posting a 3-1 win in the opener and a 3-1 loss in the finale. The Blazers have won three of their last four matches after a sweep of Louisiana Tech. UAB has hit .200 as a team, averaging 11.6 kills, 10.2 assists, 1.6 aces, 13.7 digs and 1.9 blocks per set as a team. Alex Kells has averaged 3.26 kills per set, hitting .174.
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Roadrunners wrap up regular season at UAB
