SAN ANTONIO — UTSA’s offensive weapons shined bright on Wednesday as the Roadrunners notched a 3-1 (27-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18) victory over rival Rice at the Convocation Center.
Dajana Boskovic led a trio of Roadrunners with 27 kills and 13 blocks, for a team-leading 12 double-doubles. Megan Slan added 13 kills and Kasey Kiefer 11.
Meanwhile, reigning Conference USA Freshman of the Week, Amanda Gonzales surpassed her season high in assists with 52. The freshman also added 14 digs.
The battle began early for both clubs, as UTSA (19-8, 10-2 C-USA) pulled off a 27-25 win in the first set after rallying back from a 23-17 deficit. Rice managed to get set point off a kill from McKay Kyle, 24-20, but the Roadrunners answered back with five straight points to take a 25-24 lead. The score tied once more at 25 but a kill from Boskovic and an Owls miscue gave UTSA the opening set win.
Rice (18-9, 8-5 C-USA) came back in the second set a completely different team and won 25-21 to even the match at one set apiece. The Roadrunners were held to a .170 attack percentage but made a late comeback in the frame.
Down 17-8, UTSA utilized a 7-3 run to come within five points at the 20-15 mark. The Roadrunners managed to hold off the Owls after they gained set point but a kill off the hands of Leah Mikesky secured the win. Mikesky led the Owls with 18 kills, 13 digs and a pair of stops.
The third set was a battle. UTSA rallied back and knotted the score at nine and three more ties ensued before the Roadrunners could gain control of the set. Rice drew the final tie at 14 and UTSA used a 4-0 run to pull away and win 25-19.
In the fourth set, the first several points were played close until a kill from Jordan Kotara tied the score at six. Three more UTSA points followed and the Roadrunners never looked back.
UTSA will close out its home stand this weekend when the Roadrunners welcome Louisiana Tech (10-16, 3-9) on Friday and UAB (9-19, 1-12) on Sunday for Senior Day.