WICHITA, Kan. -- Morgan Stout set a new career high with 23 kills, but Wichita State came up short against UTSA on Sunday afternoon, 25-23, 21-25, 20-25, 24-26 at Charles Koch Arena.

Wichita State ends the regular season in fourth place in the American Athletic Conference standings and will take on #5-seed Tulsa in the first round of the conference tournament on Friday.

The Shockers (15-13, 10-6) held on to win a tightly contested first set, separating late thanks to three straight kills from Stout that gave WSU a 20-17 edge. Three more Stout kills got the Shockers to 23-21, then she fired a service ace for good measure to give WSU several chances at set point. UTSA (11-18, 5-13) scored twice to stay alive, but an Alicia Coppedge service error secured a 25-23 opening set win.

The Roadrunners claimed a quick 13-7 lead in the second set but Wichita State battled all the way back to even the score at 18-18. UTSA used a decisive 3-0 run to grab control back and eventually put the set away via a kill from Caroline Krueger.

Wichita State faced another big deficit early in the third set, but this time UTSA was able to keep the Shockers at arm's length. The Roadrunners built an 18-12 cushion that the Shockers eventually trimmed down to four, but UTSA's Mia Soerensen delivered one of her 21 kills to clinch the set and a 2-1 lead.

A thrilling fourth set came down to the wire, with alternating points from 20-20 to 24-24. UTSA's Kai Bailey gave the Roadrunners match point at 25-24, and a misfire from Alyssa Gonzales on the ensuing point nailed down a 26-24 win and the match for UTSA.

The Roadrunners hit .275 compared to .196 for Wichita State and notched five aces to two for the Shockers. Bailey led all players with eight blocks and UTSA libero Peyton Turner had a match-high 21 digs.

Stout led all scorers with her 23 kills, hitting .429, while Gonzales chipped in 13 for the Shockers. Izzi Strand dished out 48 assists and Katie Galligan recorded 19 digs.

The American Athletic Conference tournament begins Friday in Wichita. The Shockers will play the final match of the day, scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm.