FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The 44th edition of UTSA Volleyball takes center stage for the first time this weekend, doing so from Arkansas’ Barnhill Arena. The Roadrunners are set for three matches at the Razorback Invitational, starting with a matchup against UT Arlington on Friday. Head coach Carol Price-Torok leads her squad into a 27-match regular season slate and looks to build momentum heading into a two-week homestand.
WHAT TO KNOW
Who: UTSA (0-0) vs. UT Arlington (0-0) | vs. SIU Edwardsville (0-0) | at Arkansas (0-0)
When: Friday, Aug. 28 (5 p.m.) | Saturday, Aug. 29 (4 p.m.) | Sunday, Aug. 30 (1 p.m.)
Where: Barnhill Arena – Fayetteville, Ark.
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Stream: SEC Network+ (Sunday only)
BRING IT BACK NOW, Y’ALL…
The ‘Runners return 10 players from last year’s squad, including six regular starters. Megan Hawkins, Giada Obregon, Brooke Elliott, Ally Tribe, Caroline Tredwell and Miranda Putnicki all started at least 18 matches a season ago. UTSA brings back 81.48% of its point production from 2025 in addition to 62.31% of all digs and 58.52% of assists.
WELCOME RAZOR-BACK
Before taking the reins at UTSA, Carol Price-Torok spent eight seasons at Arkansas as associate head coach. This weekend, she makes her first trip back to Barnhill Arena with the Roadrunners. During her time in Fayetteville, she helped the Razorbacks to back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids in 2012 and 2013. Individually, Arkansas produced four All-Americans, five all-region picks and eight all-SEC selections during her tenure.
CHOOSIN’ TEXAS (MOSTLY)
The Roadrunners have just four student-athletes who are from outside the state of Texas. Maddie Angel (Oregon), Brooke Elliott (Indiana), Makinsey Jones (Kansas) and Isabella Arroyave (Medellin, Colombia) make up the quartet of Roadrunners that do not call the Lone Star State home.
SHE’S PLAYED THESE GAMES BEFORE…
Senior Valeria Ortiz is set to make her second straight appearance at the Razorback Invitational. The setter made the trek to Barnhill Arena in 2025 with Arkansas State, where the Red Wolves faced off against Arkansas, North Dakota State and Southern Illinois. Last week, Ortiz matched up against No. 21 Baylor in a road exhibition, facing off once again with the Bears after taking on the same squad with A-State in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
UTSA AGAINST THE SEC
Against schools in the SEC at the time of competition, UTSA holds an all-time record of 7-17 head-to-head. Three such wins came against Ole Miss, with the rest coming versus Georgia (1-0), South Carolina (1-0), Tennessee (1-1) and Texas A&M (1-3). A win on Aug. 30, 2014, over the Aggies was the program's last over a league member.
UP NEXT
After their season-opening tournament, the Roadrunners will return home for a five-match stint at the Convocation Center. UTSA will host a pair of in-state foes as UIW and Tarleton State roll in on Sept. 3 and 4, respectively. All the action from Alamo City will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via utsa.statbroadcast.com.
For complete coverage of UTSA Volleyball during the 2026 season, visit goutsa.com. On social media, follow the Roadrunners on Twitter/X (@UTSAvolleyball), Instagram (utsa_vb) and Facebook (UTSA Volleyball).
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