SAN ANTONIO – On Friday night, UTSA Volleyball hosted UAB to open the second half of American Conference regular-season play. The Roadrunners suffered their first straight-set defeat at the Convocation Center this season by a final line of 18-25, 20-25, 22-25. With the loss, the Navy & Orange dipped to 12-8 overall with a 3-6 league mark. Meanwhile, the Blazers climbed to 9-12, matching UTSA’s 3-6 American record.
FIRST SET
The Blazers’ first six points of the evening came consecutively as a pair of aces helped them pull ahead by five into a timeout. An eight-point edge at 13-5 was the largest the lead swelled before two UAB service errors helped the ‘Runners back into the fight. Caroline Tredwell landed her third and fourth kills of the night to pull within three, but four more terminations from the visitors spent another timeout from head coach Carol Price-Torok as her side trailed 21-16. UAB utilized four aces and three blocks to ultimately prevail 25-18 in the opening frame.
SECOND SET
Brooke Elliott’s kill secured her side’s only point of the first eight as UAB maintained its momentum in the form of three blocks and two aces to pull in front by nine at the media stoppage. Ledisi Kpea then went on a tear, bruising the hardwood on three straight rallies, including two courtesy of Valeria Ortiz. The Kansas City transfer then came up with back-to-back blocks, capping off a personal 5-0 run with a solo rejection that got the Navy & Orange faithful on its feet. A trio of subsequent miscues from the Blazers cut the deficit to 19-17, but the visitors ran away with a 25-20 second-set win.
THIRD SET
Neither side created a three-point edge in the opening 36 rallies of the stanza, despite four kills from Tredwell while Kpea racked up three of her own alongside a pair of blocks. UAB eventually found some separation as an ace capped a 5-1 run to jump ahead 20-17. Kpea responded with a kill and a block in short order, but three straight aces from Betsy Freeburg’s bunch handed them match point up by five. Isabella Arroyave and Tredwell sandwiched their tandem block with kills on either side of a 3-0 burst, but the comeback stopped there to end the affair at 25-22.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- Caroline Tredwell led the way with a season-high 12 kills on Friday, mashing .667 without an error.
- The third-year Roadrunner set a new season high in kills while adding three blocks and four digs.
- Tredwell found the floor four times on as many swings in the opening set, landing half of her team’s total in the first stanza.
- After her program-record-breaking 14 blocks last Friday, Ledisi Kpea followed it up with five rejections against UAB.
- The redshirt junior paced her squad in denials for the 13th time this season.
- Kpea added 10 kills on an impressive .500 hitting percentage against the Blazers.
- The middle blocker only reached double-digit territory once before in 2026, doing so in the season opener with 13 against UT Arlington.
- Alyssa Manitzas posted a team-best 13 digs in the loss, recording her 13th outing with at least 10 on the campaign.
- The redshirt junior has paced UTSA in digs 14 times this season, including 11 straight contests.
- Valeria Ortiz led the hosts with 15 assists, spearheading UTSA for the 17th time this fall while adding eight digs.
- Setter Megan Hawkins earned her eighth start of the season, logging 12 assists and four digs alongside Ortiz in UTSA’s 6-2 system.
- On her 20th birthday, Isabella Arroyave tallied eight kills, three digs and two blocks.
- The ‘Runners are now 4-1 in white jerseys on the campaign.
UP NEXT
On Sunday, the ‘Runners are slated to visit Temple (12-9, 4-5 AMER), taking on the Owls at 11 a.m. CT (Noon ET) from Philadelphia. UTSA looks to avoid a three-match skid, clashing with the hosts fresh off a five-set win at Charlotte. All the action from McGonigle Hall 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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