UTSA volleyball won the last two games of its season. Taking both games in four sets, they beat the University of Tulsa 3-1 on Friday and Wichita State University 3-1 on Sunday. The Roadrunners held their own at the net this week, blocking both teams out.
The Friday game against Tulsa was the Roadrunners’ first away win; they took it in four sets 25-23, 25-21, 25-17, 25-20. The ‘Runners used their defense to slow the Golden Hurricane down, along with an aggressive offensive approach. Though Tulsa took the second set, it did not stop the ‘Runners who went on a 9-1 run. The Roadrunners’ blocks kept Tulsa to a low hitting percentage of .109. Sophomore middle blocker Kai Bailey was a leader of the match with 12 kills and four blocks. Although, she was not the only contributor; junior opposite hitter Mia Soerensen followed with 11 kills and five blocks. Freshman outside hitter Ally Tribe and junior outside hitter Caroline Krueger contributed with nine kills and two blocks apiece. UTSA racked up 16 blocks, 52 kills and 80 digs in the match.
UTSA took Sunday’s game in four sets, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20, 26-24, blocking out Wichita and keeping them at a hitting percentage of .196. The Roadrunners had 11 blocks compared to the Shockers’ seven. The ’Runners were firing on all cylinders and went on to take three consecutive sets. Taking a 5-point lead early in all three sets, the Shockers had to fight to close the gap. Wichita struggled to stop the Roadrunners as Soerensen led the team with her season-high 21 kills and five blocks, accompanied by Tribe and Bailey who each made nine kills. Tribe produced four blocks and Bailey earned eight. UTSA made a few mistakes in the match with a total of 18 attack errors, although they led with 11 service errors.
“The key for us was just working together, knowing what spots we had open and just going all out, especially with it being our last game,” senior outside hitter Faye Wilbricht said. “I think for us it was just we’re gonna do this last stretch for our seniors. I think that senior night just really pushed us through, it didn’t matter if we weren’t going to win. We’re just going to push through and play for each other.”
With these last two games, UTSA closed out its season on a three win streak and won its first road games of the 2024 season.
