SAN MARCOS — UTSA battled back-and-forth with I-35 rival Texas State Thursday night at Strahan Coliseum but the Roadrunners came up on the wrong end of a heartbreaking five-set decision (25-21, 20-25, 25-14, 19-25, 16-14).
Dajana Boskovic paced UTSA (4-1) with 25 kills and a career-best 18 digs, while Shelby Williams and Laura Cruz registered season bests with 21 and 17 digs, respectively.
The Roadrunners battled in the first set but came up short 25-21. The frame featured eight ties with most coming early in the action. Texas State (1-3) held its largest lead of the set at the 14-9 mark as the Bobcats went on a 5-1 run.
Two more ties ensued thereafter, but UTSA was unable to keep pace with the home team despite outhitting the Bobcats, .216-.184, in the first set.
The Roadrunners evened the action in the following frame as they notched a 25-20 win. UTSA held the home team to a .192 attack percentage as it surged late in the set. Trailing by four points at the 19-15 mark, the Birds went on a 10-1 run to close out the set.
In the third, UTSA struggled, as it was held to a -.083 hitting percentage and suffered a 25-14 decision. The Roadrunners recorded only four kills in the set and Texas State tallied 17.
UTSA regrouped in the fourth set and won on a close 25-19 decision. After trailing early, the Roadrunners capitalized on a block solo by Kylie Schott and went on a 6-1 run to lead 16-11. The Bobcats slowly chipped into the advantage but UTSA held on strong and secured the win on a Boskovic kill.
Tension ran high in the fifth set as the Roadrunners worked their way from behind but struggled to gain a lead. Trailing 14-12, UTSA called a timeout and managed to tie the set at 14 on back-to-back defensive miscues by the Bobcats. However, Texas State closed out the set strong for the win.
UTSA will continue tournament play against Indiana (2-1) at 3 p.m. on Friday.