HOUSTON – HBU bounced back from a two sets to none deficit to force a fifth set, but UTSA held off the Huskies, 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 17-25, 22-25, 15-11), Friday in the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup at the UH Athletics/Alumni Center.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter
Kelly Colwell recorded her first career double-double with career highs of 15 kills and 13 digs for the Huskies (5-4). Sophomore outside hitter
Mikayla Vivens also posted a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs, while sophomore middle blocker
Megan Patillo added 10 kills and eight blocks. Sophomore right side
Ashtyn Richey chipped in with eight kills and five blocks and senior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport registered seven blocks. Senior setter
Madison O'Brien dished out 40 assists to go along with 10 digs and five blocks and junior libero
Hannah Lewis had 14 digs.
Kirby Smith led UTSA (7-1) with 15 kills and 14 digs and Brianna McCulloch had 14 kills. Hannah Froeschl added 11 kills and Hannah Lopez had eight. Amanda Gonzales handed out 32 assists and Mia Perales had 19. Shelby Williams led the Roadrunners defensively with 22 digs.
HBU hit .228, with UTSA hitting .160. The Huskies outblocked the Roadrunners, 15.5-9, outdug them, 64-60, but UTSA had 10 aces to HBU's six.
With the first set tied, 8-8, UTSA seized control with four-straight points. HBU got to within one at 14-13, but the Roadrunners scored three in a row to regain a four-point advantage. The Huskies once again trimmed the deficit to one at 21-20, but the Roadrunners scored the next three and closed out the set, 25-22.
Much like the first, the second set was close early as the two sides were tied, 9-9, but the Roadrunners scored three-straight to jump ahead. UTSA extended the lead to five, but HBU scored three in a row of its own to get back within two at 17-15. The Roadrunners led 23-18, until the Huskies got kills by Richey and Vivens to once again make it a two-point set. McCulloch put away the final two points for UTSA's 25-22 win.
HBU led 10-7 in the third until UTSA took the lead with a four-point spurt. With the set tied, 13-13, the Huskies scored four-straight, including back-to-back kills by Vivens. HBU later ripped off five-straight points to extend the lead to eight and went on to win by that same margin, 25-17.
The Huskies jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the third, but the Roadrunners rebounded with three in a row to cut their deficit to two. After UTSA tied the set, 17-17, HBU got back-to-back kills by Colwell to take a lead it would not relinquish. The Roadrunners were within one at 21-20, but the Huskies scored the next three and went on to tie the match with a 25-22 victory.
HBU led 7-5 in the fifth, but UTSA used a four-point run to take a two-point advantage. After the Huskies sided out to end the run, the Roadrunners added three more to their lead to go up, 12-8. UTSA would go on to clinch the match, 15-11.
The Huskies return to action with a pair of matches Saturday, first against Cornell at 1:30 p.m., followed by host Houston at 6 p.m.
