BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Despite a furious effort from the Roadrunners, UTSA volleyball fell to Conference USA leader and undefeated WKU (25-22, 25-15, 24-26) on Sunday at E.A. Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers remained perfect at 9-0 in league play, while the Roadrunners fell to 5-3.
The UTSA (7-13, 5-3 C-USA) offense was pushed by veterans Marijeta Runjic, Kara Teal and Megan Slan. Runjic paced the squad with 12 kills while Teal added 10. Slan led the Roadrunners with a .778 hitting percentage off seven kills and zero errors.
As a team, the Roadrunners tallied 39 kills, 37 assists, 34 digs, seven blocks and three service aces while the Lady Toppers registered 43 kills, 41 assists, 25 digs, 10 blocks and eight service aces.
It was a full-on tick-for-tack battle in the first set with traded points until a kill from Slan ignited a 3-1 Roadrunner run, giving UTSA a 12-10 lead. The Lady Toppers continued to chip away, but Brianna McCulloch extended UTSA's lead to 15-12 with a kill. WKU then picked up two kills and two service aces to claim an 18-16 advantage. The Lady Toppers maintained control for the rest of the set, claiming the frame off a kill from Taylor Dellinger.
WKU regrouped for a convincing 25-15 set two win, but Slan registered a solid .667 hitting percentage while Runjic added three kills.
Set three saw the Roadrunners battle to a 7-3 lead on back-to-back kills from Runjic and McCulloch. The Lady Toppers responded with a 6-2 run to tie the panel at nine but a Slan kill and a service ace from McCulloch kept UTSA in control. The Roadrunners cruised to a 24-21 lead but the WKU rallied for a 5-0 run to clinch its 18th straight victory this year.
The Roadrunners return to action next week as they host UAB and Louisiana Tech at the Convocation Center.
