Alyssa Manitzas Digs Ball During Sunday Home Victory Over South Florida (San Antonio, Texas - Oct. 11, 2026)Alyssa Manitzas Digs Ball During Sunday Home Victory Over South Florida (San Antonio, Texas - Oct. 11, 2026)
Volleyball

Defense wows as UTSA secures five-set comeback at home

SAN ANTONIO – On Sunday, UTSA Volleyball hosted South Florida for an American Conference matchup from the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners prevailed in five sets (19-25, 25-20, 15-25, 18-25, 15-11), climbing to 11-6 on the season with an American record of 2-4. Meanwhile, the visitors dropped to 3-3 in league play and 4-12 overall.

FIRST SET

Six different Roadrunners combined for their first seven kills on Sunday, roaring out to a 12-8 edge on a rejection from Isabella Arroyave. USF answered with a 7-2 run, adding a successful challenge along the way to regain the lead. A later 5-0 burst forced both timeouts from head coach Carol Price-Torok, but the Bulls utilized eight team blocks to take a 25-19 opening frame.

SECOND SET

Arroyave landed a kill and an ace on consecutive rallies before Giada Obregon’s perfect serve swelled the lead to 12-9. Three service errors from the Bulls then kept the ‘Runners in front by two entering the media stoppage. Valeria Ortiz landed an ace of her own before Ledisi Kpea obliterated a ball, setting up Caroline Tredwell and Ally Tribe teaming up for a raucous block to go up 21-17. Tredwell came out of the ensuing timeout with another rejection before Sydney Bryant sealed the set victory at 25-20.

THIRD SET

Six of UTSA’s first seven points came courtesy of USF miscues, evening the contest at seven all before a 5-0 run from USF. An ace helped the Bulls keep their margin at the technical timeout, which they never relinquished. The visitors rolled 25-15 in set three, hitting .323 in the process.

FOURTH SET

An early Tribe ace preluded a 6-4 USF lead before the junior landed a kill to kickstart a 6-0 run. Ledisi Kpea went to another level, taking the lead with blocks on three consecutive points, bringing nearly one thousand members of the Navy & Orange faithful to their feet. One of Tredwell’s five kills on the day kept her side in front by five at the media break before Sydney Bryant found the floor twice. Obregon landed another ace, cueing Kpea for two consecutive kills that swelled the lead to nine. UTSA’s 13 kills were its most in a set, ultimately prevailing 25-18.

FIFTH SET 

Tredwell and Kpea notched a kill and solo block, respectively, handing the hosts a 4-2 lead they would not let slip away. Obregon’s third ace and a sneaky kill from Valeria Ortiz set the table for two Caroline Tredwell blocks amid a 4-0 spurt that sent USF into a huddle down 11-5.  Two of UTSA’s final points came on missed serves, including the match-clinching strike that came up short. The home bench erupted with their fourth five-set victory of the season by a 15-11 final score.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

  • USF was held to a .175 hitting percentage on Friday, marred by 26 attack errors and 21 missed serves.
  • Carol Price-Torok’s bunch is now 11-0 when holding opponents to a hitting percentage of .250 or lower, with nine such outings coming in below .200.
  • With 11 blocks on Sunday, UTSA secured its fifth match in double-digit territory this fall.
  • A program season high was set with 77 digs in the win, besting the previous mark of 72 against SIU Edwardsville.
  • UTSA last notched 77 or more digs against Temple on Nov. 7, 2025, doing so with 93 in another five-set home victory.
  • Alyssa Manitzas posted a team-best 18 digs, recording her 10th outing with at least 10 on the campaign.
  • The redshirt junior has paced UTSA in digs 11 times this season, including eight straight outings.
  • Manitzas finished one dig shy of tying her single-match career high, which she set against Texas State on Sept. 19.
  • Ally Tribe nearly matched Manitzas, logging an individual season best with 17 digs in the win.
  • Valeria Ortiz was the third and final Roadrunner with 10 or more digs, logging her team-best fifth double-double of 2026 with 13 and 21 assists.
  • Setter Megan Hawkins earned her fifth start of the campaign, logging 14 assists and nine digs alongside Ortiz in UTSA’s 6-2 system.
  • Ledisi Kpea and Ally Tribe paced the Navy & Orange with nine kills apiece.
  • While hitting .438, Kpea also finished with four rejections, including two of the solo variety.
  • In the fourth set, the redshirt junior logged blocks on three consecutive points, bringing her career total to 249.
  • Giada Obregon’s three aces on Sunday boosted her season total to a team-high 16.
  • For the fifth time this season, Caroline Tredwell paced her squad in blocks, notching six on Sunday.
  • UTSA’s three home matches in American play have all gone to a fifth set.
  • For the second straight match, no Roadrunners recorded 10 or more kills.
  • UTSA’s 44 kills were their fourth-fewest in a win this season, ahead of three sweeps over Gonzaga (42), IU Indy (38) and Tarleton State (37).
  • The Navy & Orange are 4-2 in five-set matches this season.
  • The ‘Runners are now 4-2 in navy jerseys on the campaign.
  • UTSA is now 2-4 when hitting below .200 as a unit in 2026, also toppling Texas State on a .183 clip (Sept. 19).
  • In each of UTSA’s past four home matches, opponents have tallied 10 or more service errors, including 21 from USF on Sunday.
  • Over that span, the Roadrunners’ opposition have posted 13.25 missed serves per match, climbing to 14.33 in American contests (2.87 per set).

UP NEXT

Next week, UTSA stays home on Wednesday, welcoming North Texas (9-8, 2-4 AMER) to the Convocation Center at 5 p.m. Two days later, the ‘Runners head north to Wichita State (4-14, 1-5 AMER), visiting the Shockers at 6 p.m. on Friday. All the action 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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