SAN ANTONIO — The duo of Dajana Boskovic and Dempsey Thornton led UTSA to a come-from-behind, five-set victory (28-26, 14-25, 13-25, 25-19, 15-11) against Rice on Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners (13-7, 9-0 C-USA) remained undefeated in Conference USA action while extending their winning streak to 10 matches.
Boskovic matched her career high with 22 kills and added 11 digs and four blocks. Meanwhile, Thornton registered 20 winners to go along with eight digs. Jessica Waldrip picked up her ninth double-double with 49 assists and 10 digs and Annie Kunes totaled 19 digs along the back row.
UTSA hit .225 in its second five-set win of the season, while Rice (16-6, 6-2 C-USA) notched a .329 attack percentage but dropped to 1-5 in contests that go the distance.
Both teams battled back and forth in the opening set. The Roadrunners were able to pull away from the Owls early in the stanza but allowed the Owls to make up the deficit. The frame featured 13 ties and seven lead changes before back-to-back kills from Thornton and Kylie Schott secured the win for UTSA.
After Rice tied things up in the second set and took the lead after intermission, UTSA bounced back in the fourth to send the match to a decisive fifth frame. With the score knotted at eight, UTSA scored five consecutive points to pull ahead 13-8 and the Roadrunners were able to hold off the Owls.
Waldrip gave the home team set point following a perfectly-timed dump over the net. Rice kept the set going with back-to-back points, but a miscue by Andi Bawcum handed UTSA the six-point triumph.
The Roadrunners hit .500 and held Rice to a .350 attack percentage in the fifth set. UTSA gained momentum after a timeout when trailing 7-5 and it scored four straight points to take the lead for good. The Roadrunners closed out the match by scoring four of the final five points.
Leah Mikesky paced Rice with 18 kills.
UTSA will hit the road next weekend for matches at Marshall (Friday, Oct. 24) and Charlotte (Saturday, Oct. 26).