SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA Volleyball team suffered a 22-25, 25-22, 25-25, 26-24 setback at the hands of North Texas in the American Athletic Conference opener on Friday at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners (6-8, 0-1 The American) fell to the Mean Green (4-8, 1-0 The American) as freshman Ally Tribe led the team with 10 kills. Sophomore Annika Sokol recorded a match-high 30 assists to go with nine digs, while senior Aliah Giroux scooped 13 of the opposition’s attacks and sophomore Peyton Turner 12. Senior Alicia Coppedge aided the defense, boasting six blocks, and junior Mia Soerensen charted four.
The ‘Runners found a three-point lead early in the first, as consecutive kills for freshman Martina Franco and Sokol saw a 12-9 score line. UNT then closed the gap, working a 16-16 tie, before the squads exchanged blows for a 20-20 deadlock. The Mean Green swiped the subsequent two rallies ahead of five straight UTSA scores that secured a 25-22 Roadrunner win.
UNT got off on the front foot in the second, stringing together seven in a row for a 17-13 advantage. A 4-0 UTSA run shortly after featured blocks by Tribe and Coppedge en route to a 16-15 score, still favoring the Mean Green. UNT, however, managed to keep the ‘Runners at arms-length, taking a 25-22 set victory.
The third was all Mean Green, as UNT held a 15-8 lead midway through the stanza. Not far after, they scored seven of the final 10 points to guarantee a 25-15 win.
Neither team could gain an inch in the fourth set, as the squads traded rallies before a Mean Green miscue resulted in a 20-17 Roadrunner lead. A Tribe termination saw a 21-18 score, but UNT surged for four straight and a 22-21 edge. Again swapping points, a win-by-two scenario ensued, ahead of two Mean Green kills that allowed a 26-24 victory to conclude the match.
UTSA will now hit the road, visiting Rice on Sunday, with a 1 p.m. first serve inside the Tudor Fieldhouse.
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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