BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The UTSA volleyball program suffered a 25-18, 12-25, 25-22, 25-17 defeat at the hands of UAB on Friday in American Athletic Conference action at Bartow Arena.
The Roadrunners (15-14, 8-10 AAC) fell to the Blazers (5-25, 3-15 AAC) despite junior Mekaila Aupiu leading the match with 32 assists.
Sophomore Mia Soerensen recorded 10 kills for the most on the squad, while sophomore Caroline Krueger logged three service aces. Defensively, senior Alicia Coppedge boasted three blocks and classmate Aliah Giroux 16 digs.
The Blazers started off hot, using multiple spurts to work an 11-3 advantage and force a Roadrunner timeout. UAB then won the race to 20 before earning a 25-18 first-set victory.
UTSA flipped the script, scoring eight of the first 10 points as back-to-back Coppedge kills gave the squad a 9-2 lead. Shortly after, a four-point surge for the ‘Runners that featured back-to-back senior Cansu Günaydin aces resulted in a 16-7 edge for UTSA. A Giroux ace allowed UTSA to take a 20-9 advantage before an Aupiu termination cemented a 25-12 win.
UAB began the third set with four consecutive points, but UTSA quickly answered with a freshman Kai Bailey kill, kick-starting a run that saw a 5-5 tie on a Giroux service ace. The battle raged on until the Roadrunners used an ace by Krueger to take a 20-18 lead. UAB responded with four straight scores to turn the tide and work a 22-20 advantage. The Blazers finished the set with a Kelsey Smith kill, resulting in a 25-22 victory.
A back-and-forth start to the fourth frame was broken by a string of UAB points ahead of an 11-7 score line. The opposition then kept the Roadrunners at arms-length for the remainder of the contest, with a 25-17 win securing the match for UAB.
The Roadrunners will look to bounce back on Wednesday, with a noon season finale against East Carolina awaiting inside the Convocation Center.
Keep up with UTSA Volleyball all season long on goutsa.com, and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAVBall, Twitter @UTSAVolleyball, and on Instagram @utsa_vb.
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