Photo Credit: Kaitlin McNeil

The UTSA Roadrunners (8-5) fell to the Texas State Bobcats (10-5) three sets to two in front of 661 rowdy fans who packed the Convocation Center on Friday, Sept. 20 to witness the I-35 rivalry.

Trailing 2-1, UTSA needed to win the fourth set in order to stay alive. The Roadrunners won convincingly by the largest margin of the night (25-16), forcing a fifth and final set.

In the deciding set, UTSA jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before the Bobcats came back and outscored the Roadrunners 15-7 to take the final set (15-10) and the overall victory.

UTSA outside hitter McKenzie Adams, who was the first person in Conference USA (C-USA) history to win the offensive and defensive Player of the Week awards, had 29 kills to pace the Roadrunners. Adams is currently holding an attack percentage of .266.

Freshmen Dajana Boskivic added 13 kills and 15 digs for UTSA.

“We didn’t make any adjustments between the sets,” UTSA Head Coach Laura Groff said. “I just went over the girls’ strengths. We have to play confidently; that’s what makes us strong.”

The Roadrunners seemed to be on a winning path as they won the first set (25-21). However, the Bobcats came back strong, taking sets two and three (25-22, 25-23) out from underneath UTSA.

UTSA out-blocked Texas State 15-8 and had an 85-60 advantage on digs, winning the statistical battle, but failed to get into the win column.

“There isn’t anything we can do about the loss tonight,” Groff said. “We need to find out why we mentally shut off and fix the mistakes.”

On Saturday, the UTSA Roadrunners volleyball team swept the Houston Baptist Huskies 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-19) at the Convocation Center.

Adams again led the team with 16 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore and defensive specialist Annie Kunes added 26 digs and two assists.

The Roadrunners opened the matches with a 12-point win, setting the mood for the final two sets.

“It went as we expected,” UTSA Head Coach Laura Groff said. “We were a little nervous after the disappointing loss last night (to Texas State Bobcats), and I was really proud with how the girls came out with a lot of fire and disposition. We took care of business on our side of the net and that’s all we ask of them.”

Houston Baptist did put up a tough fight in the second and third sets, losing by four and five points, respectively.

Credit also goes to freshman Jessica Waldrip, who posted a team-high 39 assists.

“I can’t do anything without my passers and blocking and defense,” Waldrip said. “As long as we get a good pass we should be able to run our offense.”

The victory against the Huskies fuels UTSA for their upcoming game against the Baylor Bears.

“It’s our last opportunity to play a non-conference team,” Groff explained, “a team that’s in a bigger conference than we are, the Big 12, so we’d like to earn a little more respect from the other conferences by beating them.”

The Roadrunners head to Waco Tuesday, Sept. 24, to face the Bears.