SAN ANTONIO – Cansu Günaydin had her second match with at least 20 kills while Amanda Ifeanyi had a season-high 17 kills as UTSA picked up its first Conference USA victory of the season, downing FAU 3-2 in a five-set thriller Friday night at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (6-8, 1-1) dominated the first two sets, claiming a 2-0 lead with comfortable first and second set wins of six and seven points respectively. Florida Atlantic (10-5, 0-3) dropped its fourth straight match and third straight C-USA contest as it was unable to pull off the reverse sweep.
Günaydin and Ifeanyi were two of four Roadrunners who notched doubles digit kills in the match as both Katelyn Krienke (11) and Kelsey Carpenter (10) put forth stellar nights.
First Set (UTSA: 25-19: FAU)
Florida Atlantic was able to claim early momentum in the first set, leading up until the halfway point of set one. Once down five, UTSA rallied to knot the set up at 16 and later pulled away, going on a 9-3 run to finish off the set and take a 1-0 lead. Krienke paced UTSA in the first set with five kills while Alicia Coppedge chipped in four of her own.
Second Set (UTSA: 25-18: FAU)
The second set played out similarly to the first as FAU was able to hold the lead for the first portion of the set before UTSA yanked it away and didn't give the lead up. After tying the game at 15-all, UTSA used a 10-3 run to pull away and take a 2-0 match lead. Günaydin led all players with five kills in the set and Ifeanyi pitched in three kills.
Third Set (FAU: 25-22: UTSA)
The third set was extremely back and forth as neither team was able to claim a lead bigger than three until the very end of the set when FAU pulled away. The Owls had their best-attacking set of the night in the third, as FAU tallied a .351 percentage in the set. Coppedge and Günaydin each had four kills in the set, leading the UTSA offense.
Fourth Set (FAU: 34-32: UTSA)
Florida Atlantic carried its third set momentum into the fourth as the Owls were able to an early 10-4 lead over UTSA. The Roadrunners rallied however and were able to fend off set point and send the match into a back-and-forth as the two teams exchanged set points. Ultimately, FAU tallied two points in a row to earn the fourth set victory and send the two teams to a decisive fifth set. Günaydin again had a monster set as she notched eight kills and Ifeanyi had six to lead the squad.
Fifth Set (UTSA: 15-5: FAU)
The Roadrunners regrouped heading into the fifth and put an end to the match, dominating the fifth set and winning by 10 points. UTSA ran out to a 14-3 lead as Ifeanyi was determined to put the game away. The junior middle blocker had five kills to cap off her 17-kill night and put the Owls to bed.
Up Next
Following its first Conference USA win, UTSA will be back at the Convo this Sunday, Oct. 2, as it hosts La Tech. UTSA and La Tech are set to get underway at noon and the game will be broadcast on CUSA.tv.
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