HOUSTON — Rice swept UTSA by scores of 25-17, 25-23 and 28-26 on Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse in the regular season finale for both teams.
Despite a 21-kill performance by Dajana Boskovic, the Owls were too much for the Roadrunners (19-7, 10-4 C-USA).
UTSA was held to a .198 attack percentage, while Rice (18-11, 10-4 C-USA) boasted a .302 hitting percentage.
Antonela Jularic was the only other Roadrunner to near double figures with eight kills and eight digs.
Rice, which snapped a two-match losing skid, was led by Chelsey Harris and Leah Mikesky, who had 16 and 13 kills, respectively.
The Roadrunners battled from the get-go as each set saw multiple ties and lead changes. In the first set, after a 6-all tie by the Roadrunners, the Owls used a 4-0 run to gain control of the frame and held UTSA to a .167 hitting percentage.
In the second set, UTSA played a tougher game and even led by as many as five at the 14-9 mark after a 5-0 run. Rice eventually rallied back to even the score at 22-all and scored three of the last four points for the win.
The last set headed into extras after the home team battled back to take the lead away from the Roadrunners. UTSA led 24-21 on a kill from Boskovic but the Owls scored three in a row to tie the score at 24-all. Two more ties ensued before Rice was able to seal the match and defeat the Roadrunners.
UTSA now awaits its seeding for next week's Conference USA Tournament, which will be played in Houston from Nov. 18-20.
