SAN ANTONIO — UTSA volleyball began its fall campaign with a 3-0 loss to Stephen F. Austin State University on Friday at the Convocation Center.
The ‘Runners (0-1) lost the sets 25-17, 25-12, 25-16, respectively. In the first set, the Roadrunners were able to go up early, but the Ladyjacks’ (1-0) offense became too much for the ‘Runners to handle. Set two was a back-and-forth contest where SFA looked more coordinated from the service line than UTSA, where errors led to the team’s demise. The third set was filled with errors from both teams, but the Roadrunners’ defense eventually succumbed to the Ladyjacks offensive attack once again, falling 3-0. UTSA has now lost three straight games to SFA.
UTSA set the tone early in the first set with kills from graduate opposite hitter Brooke Elliott and junior middle blocker Miranda Putnicki. Five different Roadrunners recorded kills in the first set, giving UTSA a four-point cushion before SFA took the lead with five kills. The ‘Runners had four errors to the Ladyjacks’ six, but were outplayed the rest of the set leading to a 25-17 loss. Mental and physical mistakes from UTSA allowed SFA to take the late lead.
Kills from Elliott and sophomore middle blocker Caroline Tredwell put the Roadrunners within two points early in the second set. SFA took advantage of UTSA’s defensive positioning and registered multiple kills, creating a sizable lead and forcing UTSA to call a timeout. The ‘Runners found themselves in a 13-point hole halfway through the set, managing to score eight points late before eventually dropping the set 25-12.
“Offensively, it was a little tough. We were scoring points through the middle which is a big goal for us this year. We wanted our middles going and I think we did that,” coach Carol Price-Torok said of the team’s offense. “Then we got killed on kills. I think a little bit of that was our passing, [we] have to be a little more consistent so everyone’s an option. Then reach into our toolbox with the ball around the middle a little bit more.”
An attack error by outside hitter Kennedy Jones paired with an additional kill from Elliott gave the Roadrunners two points early in the third set. SFA responded with a kill of its own by setter Jayden Flynn. Two attack errors by sophomore outside hitter Ally Tribe gave the Ladyjacks a one point lead before UTSA rebounded with four points off three kills from Tribe, senior outside hitter Caroline Krueger and Tredwell — but still allowing seven points in the process.
After a timeout, the Roadrunners scored four times to cut the lead to 17-14 before a kill from Ilana De Assis extended their deficit 18-14. Errors from Megan Hawkins, Tredwell and Krueger along with opposing kills from Jones, De Assis and middle blocker Kyanna Creecy led to the loss of set three 25-16, ending the game in three sets.
“What things do we do well? I think [it’s] the long rallies and making sure we can work without the ball and defensive rallies. We need to put more pressure on teams from the service line. I think we have to serve a little bit tougher,” Price-Torok said when asked about the mentality facing Texas State University on Saturday. “Today, they did put pressure on us. It was just one of the keys to them being so successful. We have to answer that call and be comfortable in our own gym.”
Tredwell and Tribe led the team with six kills apiece, while freshman opposite hitter Gigi Mason, Putnicki, Krueger and Elliott had five and four respectively. UTSA gave away three service errors to SFA’s two and the ‘Runners had 19 attack errors while the LadyJacks had 13.
UTSA will next play Texas State University at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center.
