The UTSA volleyball team lost their eighth straight game to UAB 3-1 on Friday, Nov. 4. The Roadrunners (7-17, 2-10 C-USA) kept three of the four sets close; however, they were unable to keep up with the Blazers (12-12, 7-5) offense.

Hunter Coppola and Cansu Günaydin led the Roadrunners with 11 kills each. Mekaila Aupiu had 22 assists, her second straight game of at least 20. The next closest ‘Runners were Ava Camacho and Courtney Walters, with four. Camacho had 16 digs in the evening. 

The most lopsided set was the first, with UTSA losing 25-12. The game was tied 4-4, and then UAB took a 13-10 lead. A 12-2 run would end the first set, with Coppola having a team-high two kills. 

The Blazers opened the second set strong going up 6-0. The Roadrunners regrouped and closed the gap to one point, trailing 17-16. UAB jumped to a 24-17 lead, and despite UTSA scoring three unanswered, the Blazers got a kill by Chloe Rodriguez to win 25-20 and took a 2-0 lead. 

UTSA prevented the sweep by winning the third set. The Roadrunners found themselves in a 3-0 deficit, then 8-4. UTSA went on a 9-1 run to go up 13-9. Each team would exchange points, with neither team getting more than three kills in a row, guiding UTSA to a 25-20 win. 

Despite the ‘Runners jumping to a 10-5 lead, the Blazers regained control to end UTSA’s hopes of a comeback. UAB took a 13-12 lead and would carry on to win 25-20.

Alex Kells and Maia Rackell led the Blazers with 16 kills each. Lidya Caturk had 49 assists on the night, the second-highest total in C-USA in a four-set match this season. UTSA had a .076 hitting percentage for the game and had 53 points to the Blazers’ 71. As a result, UAB jumped to the number four team in the C-USA standings, while UTSA remains at the bottom. 

The ‘Runners will play their final home game this season at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10.