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Giada Obregon Serves During Friday Road Loss At Memphis (Oct. 30, 2026 - Memphis, Tenn.)Giada Obregon Serves During Friday Road Loss At Memphis (Oct. 30, 2026 - Memphis, Tenn.)
Jacob Ramirez
Volleyball

Fifth-set woes continue at Memphis

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – On Friday evening, UTSA Volleyball visited Memphis for the midway point of a three-match road trip. The Roadrunners took a lead entering the fourth set, but saw their 2-1 edge slip away (16-25, 26-24, 25-16, 18-25, 11-15). With the loss, the Navy & Orange moved to 12-10 overall. Memphis, climbing to 8-14, matched UTSA’s American Conference record with a 3-8 mark.

FIRST SET

A pair of aces and three UTSA attack errors put Memphis up 11-3 in a flash, but Ally Tribe responded with a kill and an ace of her own amid a 5-0 response. After reestablishing a six-point cushion into the media timeout, the Tigers rode Caitlyn Litte to their largest lead at 21-11 off her ace. Eight attack errors from the Roadrunners proved costly as they hit .026, suffering a 25-16 defeat in the opening frame.

SECOND SET

At just 9-9, the two sides had already amassed their seventh tie of the back-and-forth frame. Sydney Bryant quickly got involved as her fourth termination evened things at 17 all. Head coach Carol Price-Torok then brought her unit into a huddle before facing a 23-20 deficit. The ‘Runners ripped off six of the final seven rallies, courtesy of two Caroline Tredwell blocks and another kill from Bryant. Memphis sent an ensuing ball wide, capping the game at 26-24 to even the affair at one set apiece.

THIRD SET

An early 10-2 UTSA swing saw two more Bryant kills while Tredwell found the floor both at the net and from the service line. Ledisi Kpea’s third point of the stanza sent her side into the technical stoppage up five before they held a 20-16 edge approaching the final stretch. Kpea then came through with two more terminations before Tribe and Brooke Elliott supplemented a set-clinching 5-0 burst to prevail 25-16.

FOURTH SET

Valeria Ortiz found a rhythm with her squad’s first four assists of the frame, but three Memphis aces kept the Tigers in front as they built a 13-9 cushion. Both sides notched three-point runs, but Arroyave’s four kills were not enough to ever reclaim a lead. The hosts took each of the final five rallies, capping a five-block fourth set at 25-18.

FIFTH SET

Memphis jumped out to a three-point edge before Arroyave found the hardwood twice, setting up a Tribe termination to help UTSA pull ahead 8-7. Megan Hawkins connected with Bryant twice down the stretch, but the Tigers’ final nine points came on kills as they blitzed their way to a 15-11 comeback victory.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

  • For the first time this season, four different Roadrunners tallied 10 or more kills.
  • Sydney Bryant led the way, capitalizing on 15 of her 40 swings on a .300 clip, pacing her side in kills for the 10th time while entering double-digit territory for the first time since Oct. 2 at Charlotte.
  • Isabella Arroyave posted 13 kills for her ninth outing of at least 10 this fall, adding a block and a dig.
  • Ledisi Kpea’s 11 kills came on a .320 hitting percentage while she added three total blocks.
  • Alyssa Manitzas paced her side with 14 digs on Sunday, leading UTSA in the category for the 16th time this season, including 13 straight contests.
  • The redshirt junior libero recorded her 15th outing with at least 10 digs on the campaign, doing so in each of UTSA’s past 13 matches.
  • In addition to a team-high two service aces, Ally Tribe was the fourth and final Roadrunner with double-digit kills in the loss, tallying 10 on Friday.
  • The junior posted her fourth double-double of the campaign, adding 12 digs against the Tigers.
  • Setter Valeria Ortiz earned her 13th start of the season, logging 26 assists to pace her squad for the 18th time while adding seven digs.
  • Megan Hawkins joined Ortiz in the 6-2 system, posting her first double-double of 2026 with 18 assists and 10 digs.
  • Hawkins and Tribe became the fourth UTSA duo to both record double-doubles in the same match this year.
  • All four contests in which two Roadrunners each tallied a double-double have gone to a fifth set.
  • Six of the Roadrunners’ seven blocks came in the first two sets on Friday.
  • The ‘Runners are now 4-5 in navy jerseys on the campaign.
  • UTSA moved to 1-4 in five-set American Conference matchups this season.

UP NEXT

On Sunday, the Roadrunners will head to UAB (9-13, 3-7 AMER) for their second matchup against the Blazers in a 10-day span. With the contest taking place at Hoover High School’s Competition Gym, it will not be streamed. All the action will be available to follow live 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).

-UTSA-