SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA volleyball program celebrated Senior Day on Sunday, with festivities including a 25-19, 25-21, 25-19 sweep over Florida Atlantic in American Athletic Conference action in the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners (9-18, 3-11 The American) knocked off the Owls (15-11, 7-7 The American), with freshman Ally Tribe pacing the squad with 11 kills, while junior Mia Soerensen and senior Alicia Coppedge each posted nine. Soerensen converted attacks at a .467 clip, and Coppedge boasted a .750 hitting percentage. Soerensen also led the match with eight blocks to Coppedge's seven. Sophomore Peyton Turner topped the contest's dig leader board with 10, as classmate Annika Sokol tallied 19 assists and freshman Morgen Durgens 14.
FAU jumped out to an 11-8 lead in the first, ahead of a four straight by UTSA that allowed a sophomore Kai Bailey/senior Faye Wilbricht block to take a 13-11 advantage. The Owls evened things before kills by Bailey and Tribe prompted a freshman Bailey Lechler ace for a 17-13 edge. Shortly after, a Coppedge kill put UTSA up 21-14, and a successful attack for junior Caroline Krueger polished off a 25-19 win.
UTSA scored the first four points in the second stanza in a surge that saw three consecutive blocks for Soerensen/Coppedge and an ace by Tribe. FAU stormed back, with a 9-3 run helping work a 13-13 tie. Back-to-back terminations for Soerensen then capped off a 5-1 run that put UTSA back in the driver's seat. A Krueger kill allowed the 'Runners to win the race to 20, and another successful attack for Tribe saw a 21-16 edge ahead of a 25-21 victory.
The Roadrunners rallied for five straight in the third, building a 14-9 lead and forcing an Owl timeout. UTSA never looked back, as a Coppedge kill secured a 25-20 win and a Senior Day sweep.
UTSA will now wrap up the season on the road, with a match against Tulsa on Friday at 6 p.m., ahead of a 1 p.m. contest with Wichita State on Sunday.
Keep up with UTSA Volleyball on goutsa.com, and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAVBall, Twitter @UTSAVolleyball, and on Instagram @utsa_vb.
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