SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA volleyball team couldn’t overcome East Carolina on Wednesday, with the squad falling 25-17, 24-26, 25-19, 25-16 in their American Athletic Conference finale inside the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners (15-15, 8-11 AAC) fell to the Pirates (20-10, 11-8 AAC) in four sets as sophomore Mia Soerensen led the match with 16 kills and junior Mekaila Aupiu posted a double-double.
Aupiu joined Soerensen as a statistical leader with 31 assists to go along with 11 digs. Aupiu also tied senior Alicia Coppedge for the team-high in blocks, each posting four.
Along with Aupiu, senior Aliah Giroux and freshman Peyton Turner recorded double-digit digs, with Giroux managing 18 and Turner 11.
The ‘Runners worked a 10-7 lead to open the first frame before ECU embarked on a 10-point run, forcing a UTSA timeout. A Soerensen kill coming out of the break halted the streak, but the Pirates quickly won the battle to 20, ahead of a 22-15 advantage. Junior Faye Wilbricht and senior Cansu Günaydin issued back-to-back terminations before ECU claimed a 25-17 victory.
Consecutive Pirate errors broke an 8-8 deadlock early in the second, putting UTSA out in front. Following an ECU point, freshman Kai Bailey, Soerensen, and sophomore Caroline Krueger smashed terminations over the net for a 14-10 edge. A kill for Wilbricht shortly after allowed UTSA to go up 17-12, but the Pirates stormed back, eventually knotting the stanza at 21. The squads exchanged blows until ECU took a 24-22 lead. Coppedge responded with a kill, and back-to-back blocks by Aupiu had the Roadrunners one score away from a victory. Freshman Peyton Turner then used a dig attack to secure a 26-24 UTSA win.
Five straight scores for ECU allowed the Pirates to take a 9-4 advantage in the third, but the ‘Runners didn’t go quietly with a Soerensen kill pulling them within one and seeing a 12-11 score line. Neither squad could gain an inch until ECU rattled off four straight for an 18-13 lead that later resulted in a 25-19 victory for the Pirates.
Picking up right where they left off, ECU went up 10-5 to kick-start the final frame. They then managed to keep UTSA at arms-length for the remainder of the match, using a 25-16 win to secure a road victory.
This concludes the 2023 UTSA volleyball campaign, with the team’s 15 wins representing the most since a 16-14 campaign in 2019.
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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