SAN ANTONIO – No. 21 Rice spoiled UTSA's final home match of 2019 with a 3-0 (16-25, 16-25, 17-25) decision at the Convocation Center Thursday.
The Roadrunners fall to 15-11 on the season, including 8-5 in Conference USA, while the Owls improve to 23-2, 12-1. Both teams conclude the regular season Saturday.
Senior Bianca McCulloch hit .333 (9-2-21) and now has 934 kills in her career. Sophomore Hannah Lopez added kills eight, while classmate Mia Ybarra tallied 10 digs. Freshman Courtney Walters registered her 26th consecutive double-digit assists performance of the season with 18.
Rice hit .367 (43-10-90) as a team and converted 76.5-percent of its side-out opportunities. The Owls tallied 14 block assists and two solo blocks en route to multiple 10-point leads in each game. They trailed for one point in the three games – the opening rally of the third.
UTSA travels to Denton, Texas Saturday for the season finale. First serve against North Texas is at noon. The Roadrunners secured a spot in 2019 Conference USA Volleyball Championship – their seventh in as many opportunities since joining the league prior to the 2013 campaign. UTSA finishes in a tie for third with a win over North Texas and will finish in sixth with a loss.
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