MILWAUKEE, Wis. — UTSA battled back from dropping the opening two sets, but the Roadrunners' efforts fell short in a five-set loss to Green Bay on Friday night at the Marquette Invitational (14-25, 23-25, 27-25, 25-20, 12-15).
Dajana Boskovic paced UTSA (2-4) with a career-high 21 kills, 16 digs and two blocks. Meanwhile, Dempsey Thornton added a dozen winners and Marijeta Runjic registered 11 and a season-best five blocks.
Annie Kunes tallied 26 digs for the Roadrunners defense, while Megan Slan chipped in with a season-best nine blocks and Kylie Schott added a half dozen.
UTSA was a bit sluggish out of the gate, as it dropped the first two sets by scores of 25-14 and 25-23.
Despite hitting .095 in the third set, while Green Bay (2-6) hit .222, the Roadrunners won the third frame, 27-25. Thornton's kill was the deciding factor in the stanza.
In the fourth set, the Roadrunners swung at a .324 clip and held the Phoenix to a .083 attack percentage. Green Bay committed eight errors while the Roadrunners only registered three. UTSA played from behind and late a 6-1 run helped UTSA tie the contest.
However, the Roadrunners were unable to carry the momentum into the deciding set, which featured 10 ties and four lead changes. After a Phoenix serving error tied things up at 12, two consecutive points by Green Bay, followed by a UTSA defensive miscue sent the Roadrunners to their third straight setback.
UTSA will close out tournament play on Saturday when it takes on James Madison (4-4) at 2 p.m. and event host Marquette (4-3) six hours later.