SAN ANTONIO — UTSA's run to a Conference USA Tournament title came to an end on Sunday at the Convocation Center when No. 21 and top-seeded Western Kentucky downed the Roadrunners in four sets (25-17, 25-19, 20-25, 25-21).
UTSA, which concluded its season at 24-9 for its sixth consecutive 20-plus win season, saw two players named to the All-Tournament Team in Amanda Gonzales and Kasey Kiefer.
Kiefer racked up 14 kills and four digs, while Gonzales registered 42 assists, seven digs and a career-best three blocks.
Trailing 2-0 at the break, UTSA went on to win the third set, 25-20. The Roadrunners held the Lady Hilltoppers (31-3), who had nine miscues in the stanza, to a .068 hitting percentage in the set victory. UTSA used an early 5-0 run to jump out in front, 12-5, and that led to a Western Kentucky timeout. The Roadrunners scored three more points out of the timeout and never relinquished the lead.
In the fourth set, UTSA kept it within two points for most of the set, but after the 23-21 mark, the Lady Hilltoppers pulled away for the win with a kill and service ace.
Setter Jessica Lucas, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, nearly recording a triple-double with 54 assists, nine kills and eight digs. Western Kentucky saw two other players named to the All-Tournament Team in Sydney Engle and Noelle Langenkamp.