SAN ANTONIO – In its second American Conference match of the season, UTSA Volleyball hosted Florida Atlantic on Sunday from the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners (9-4, 0-2 AMER) fell in five sets to the Owls, suffering their first reverse sweep of the season (25-14, 25-22, 23-25, 16-25, 9-15). The Navy & Orange dropped their second consecutive five-set affair while FAU jumped to 8-5 with a 1-1 record in league play.
FIRST SET
Ally Tribe landed two quick kills before Alyssa Manitzas’ first ace of the day put her side ahead by four. Ledisi Kpea and Isabella Arroyave led the charge at the net, combining for seven kills and an ace as UTSA hit .552 in the set. After taking a seven-point advantage into the media timeout, the ‘Runners never let the Owls any closer than five down the stretch. Makinsey Jones poured in two terminations of her own before Arroyave capped the frame at 25-14 while the hosts finished without an attack error.
SECOND SET
En route to an 11-9 UTSA lead during a Fernanda Nelson stoppage, Tribe and Arroyave each notched three more kills. The hosts’ edge hovered between two and four points for the remaining 27 rallies as both sides failed to build a run. Tribe’s fifth kill of the frame was sandwiched by a Kpea termination and block before Valeria Ortiz tacked on an ace at 23-19. The Roadrunners’ final two points came courtesy of service errors, securing a two-set lead by a 25-22 margin.
THIRD SET
Starting setter Megan Hawkins found three different teammates for early kills before a block and an ace from the Owls helped them draw back within two at 13-11. Two kills and a block from Arroyave swelled the gap to five before FAU answered with a 7-1 run that flipped the lead at 21-20. The two sides exchanged five consecutive kills, but the Owls prevailed 25-23 on a wide swing from UTSA.
FOURTH SET
An early barrage was capped by an ace as FAU swarmed ahead 11-4. The opposing squads then traded the ensuing 12 rallies before a four-point Owls burst forced Carol Price-Torok’s final timeout down 20-11. The afternoon’s only frame without a tie or lead change got away from UTSA by a score of 25-16.
FIFTH SET
Makinsey Jones was the lone Roadrunner to find the floor before FAU blitzed out to a 9-4 lead that sent Price-Torok’s bunch into a huddle. Arroyave followed up with a kill and a block alongside Ledisi Kpea on back-to-back points, but a second ace from the Owls helped spark a 4-0 spurt that brought about match point. A final score of 15-9 in favor of FAU eventually sealed the reverse sweep.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- Sydney Bryant paced UTSA in kills for the ninth time this season, racking up 14 on a .324 hitting percentage.
- Isabella Arroyave and Ally Tribe matched each other with 11 kills apiece, rounding out the trio of Roadrunners in double-digit territory.
- The former narrowly missed out on her fourth double-double in five matches, adding eight digs in the loss.
- Alyssa Manitzas was the lone Roadrunner to post double-digit digs on Sunday, notching 14 against the Owls.
- Megan Hawkins recorded her third start of the season, finishing the afternoon with 24 assists and five digs.
- The junior was joined by Valeria Ortiz with a team-high 24 assists to go with eight digs against FAU.
- For the eighth time in 13 matches this fall, Ledisi Kpea tallied five or more blocks.
- Giada Obregon recorded nine digs and three assists off the bench in the back row.
UP NEXT
Next weekend, UTSA hits the road for the first time in American Conference play. The ‘Runners are set to visit Charlotte on Oct. 2 (5 p.m. CT), before trekking to East Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 4 at Noon CT. All the action from the Tar Heel State 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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