DENTON, Texas – The 30 combined kills from Brianna McCulloch and Hannah Lopez were not enough for UTSA to complete the comeback in the regular-season finale at North Texas Volleyball Arena Saturday.
After dropping a hard-fought five-set decision (20-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-17, 8-15), the Roadrunners finish the campaign with a 15-12 mark, including 8-6 in Conferee USA play. The Mean Green improve to 16-10 and 10-4 in league play.
UTSA fell behind two sets to none before claiming victories in games three and four. North Texas took the fifth set 15-8 to earn the victory.
With the result, UTSA finishes as the six seed in the Conference USA Volleyball Championship, hosted by Rice, in Houston, while North Texas secured the No. 3 seed. The teams square off in the first round of the tournament at 7 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse Nov. 22.
McCulloch paced the Roadrunners with 17 kills on 31 attempts, with four errors, finishing with a .419 hitting percentage. The senior from San Antonio's Taft High School has 951 kills in her four-year career.
Lopez tallied her team-best eighth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 13 digs, while senior Kara Teal hit .533 (9-1-15). Senior Emily Ramirez filled the stat sheet with 15 digs, six assists and a career-high five service aces.
After UTSA dug itself out of a 0-2 hole, the Roadrunners were unable to complete the comeback, dropping the fifth set. Leading 8-5 when the teams switched sides, North Texas sealed the set and match triumph by outscoring the Roadrunners 7-3.
- UTSA -
