Sports
Volleyball Sweeps UTSA, Clinches American Championship Berth
SAN ANTONIO – UNT volleyball collected a 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-17) sweep over UTSA on Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center and secured a spot in the American Conference Championship.
“I’m really pleased with the way the team played and thought we executed a really balanced attack,” head coach Dave Fleming said. “Our left sides, Lilly Croshaw and Reese Watters, had a good match, along with our right sides and our back row. Overall, it was a really good team win.”
The Mean Green (19-6, 9-3) extended its conference winning streak to eight matches, tied for the third-best mark in program history, as it held the Roadrunners (11-12, 4-8) to 29 kills over three sets. UNT picked up its eighth road win of the season which is tied for the most away victories for the program since Division I adopted 25-point rally scoring in 2008.
Outside hitter Reagan Bedell led the match with 15 points as she tallied 10 kills, three aces, three blocks and 15 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Opposite hitter Lilly Croshaw also finished with 10 kills and added four blocks.
In the first set, the two programs swapped side-out points until 7-6 before Bedell scored the next five points for UNT with three kills and two aces. The Mean Green closed the frame by scoring five of the final six points including Ryann Vik’s set-winning kill off a set from Sidney Soria.
UNT fell behind by four points, 8-4, early in the second before it closed the set by outscoring UTSA 21-8 to take a commanding two-set lead in the match. Over the final 29 points, Reese Watters dropped three kills while Vik added three blocks, two kills and one ace.
The Mean Green opened the third with an 11-4 run before the Roadrunners successfully sided out in five of its next six attempts to cut the frame to 16-13. UNT closed the sweep on a 9-4 run as Vik registered two blocks and the match-winning kill.
UNT travels to meet preseason American Conference favorites Rice (15-8, 11-1) on Friday at 6 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse.
“I’m really pleased with the way the team played and thought we executed a really balanced attack,” head coach Dave Fleming said. “Our left sides, Lilly Croshaw and Reese Watters, had a good match, along with our right sides and our back row. Overall, it was a really good team win.”
The Mean Green (19-6, 9-3) extended its conference winning streak to eight matches, tied for the third-best mark in program history, as it held the Roadrunners (11-12, 4-8) to 29 kills over three sets. UNT picked up its eighth road win of the season which is tied for the most away victories for the program since Division I adopted 25-point rally scoring in 2008.
Outside hitter Reagan Bedell led the match with 15 points as she tallied 10 kills, three aces, three blocks and 15 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Opposite hitter Lilly Croshaw also finished with 10 kills and added four blocks.
In the first set, the two programs swapped side-out points until 7-6 before Bedell scored the next five points for UNT with three kills and two aces. The Mean Green closed the frame by scoring five of the final six points including Ryann Vik’s set-winning kill off a set from Sidney Soria.
UNT fell behind by four points, 8-4, early in the second before it closed the set by outscoring UTSA 21-8 to take a commanding two-set lead in the match. Over the final 29 points, Reese Watters dropped three kills while Vik added three blocks, two kills and one ace.
The Mean Green opened the third with an 11-4 run before the Roadrunners successfully sided out in five of its next six attempts to cut the frame to 16-13. UNT closed the sweep on a 9-4 run as Vik registered two blocks and the match-winning kill.
UNT travels to meet preseason American Conference favorites Rice (15-8, 11-1) on Friday at 6 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse.