HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — UTSA continued its Conference USA dominance on Friday night with a four-set victory (25-20, 21-25, 27-25, 25-20) on Friday night at Marshall.
Combined with last season’s final eight regular-season matches, the Roadrunners (14-7, 10-0 C-USA) extended their league winning streak to 18 matches.
Three players paced UTSA to its 11 consecutive win. Dempsey Thornton recorded her second consecutive match with 20 kills and she added 16 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Meanwhile, Dajana Boskovic added 16 winners and Marijeta Runjic racked up 10. Reigning C-USA Setter of the Week, Jessica Waldrip, picked up her 12th match of 40-plus assists with 51 to go along with 16 digs.
The Roadrunners limited the Thundering Herd (10-14, 2-8 C-USA) to a .079 attack percentage in the first set while hitting .242. However, UTSA was unable to grab a solid lead until breaking away with the scored tied at eight. A 5-1 run by the Birds gave them a 13-9 lead and they never looked back. Marshall managed to pull to within three at 18-15, but its run was halted by a timeout.
The Thundering Herd rallied in the second stanza to even the match heading into intermission. After a block by Runjic and Tessa Dahnert tied things up at 16, Marshall went on a 4-1 run to take a 20-17 lead. Ally Kiekover and Sammie Bane gave the Herd match point on a block at 24-19, but it did not secure the win until three plays later.
After four ties early in the third set, UTSA pulled away with a 4-1 run to go up, 10-7. Marshall slowly closed in on the deficit and finally tied the score at 22 on a Jillian Shemanski kill. Three more ties ensued before miscues by Cassie Weaver handed the Roadrunners the win.
Thornton led the way in the fourth set, as the senior outside hitter notched eight kills in leading UTSA to a .347 hitting percentage. UTSA saw the Thundering Herd come from behind to even the score at 17 on another kill by Shemanski. However, after each team traded points, the Roadrunners scored six of the last seven to clinch the match
UTSA will continue its weekend road trek on Sunday at Charlotte (13-14, 2-8 C-USA). First serve is slated for 11 a.m. (CT).