FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – On Saturday, UTSA Volleyball picked up its first win of the fall campaign with a five-set triumph over SIU Edwardsville. The Roadrunners tallied 16 aces and improved to 1-1 on the young season with a neutral win at Arkansas’ Barnhill Arena. Redshirt freshman Sydney Bryant led the way with 21 kills and dropped the Cougars to 0-2 overall.
Set-by-set: UTSA wins 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 24-26, 15-11)
FIRST SET
A pair of kills from Sydney Bryant knotted things up at 4-4 before SIUE took seven of the ensuing nine points to force an early timeout from Carol Price-Torok. Eight of the next 10 rallies went to the ‘Runners as Bryant added two more kills alongside an ace apiece from Giada Obregon and Megan Hawkins. Makinsey Jones then followed up with her first collegiate ace before SIUE answered with a 6-0 run. The two sides split the final 10 points, granting the Cougars an opening-frame win at 25-21.
SECOND SET
A miscue at the service line brought the Cougars within one before Valeria Ortiz sparked a 6-0 burst with a pair of aces to amass a 14-7 edge. Later, two straight blocks from Jones forced a stoppage from the opposing bench as UTSA held an eight-point advantage. Gigi Mason followed up with three kills in a four-point swing that all but sealed the stanza at 23-14. Despite a late push, the Navy & Orange held on for a 25-20, match-tying game victory.
THIRD SET
An other-worldly frame from the service line was sparked first by Jones before Mason notched a pair of points via kills. Ortiz then came through with back-to-back aces to retake a 9-8 lead. Later, Ally Tribe commanded a six-point run at the line with a kill and a trio of perfect serves. Jones followed up with a 6-0 spurt of her own, including another ace, that swelled the margin to 21-13. Alyssa Manitzas poured in her side’s eighth and final ace of the stanza before Tribe’s blow ended things at 25-17.
FOURTH SET
An early stoppage from Price-Torok down 9-5 sparked Gigi Mason and Ledisi Kpea en route to a 6-1 burst that left the Roadrunners up two. Both sides traded runs that featured more aces before swapping six straight rallies. SIUE snapped the streak as a UTSA attack error set up a set-clinching kill at 26-24.
FIFTH SET
Bryant landed four more early kills on either side of Makinsey Jones’ fourth ace, leaving the Cougars staring down an 8-2 hole. Despite a push from the Cougars that brought the affair within three, UTSA pulled away on the back of Bryant’s 20th and 21st kills to win 15-11.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- UTSA matched a program record (since 25-point rally scoring began in 2008) with 16 aces against the Cougars. The ‘Runners also tallied 16 in a sweep over UIW on Sept. 17, 2019.
- UTSA landed more aces during the third set on Saturday (eight) than it did in any full match across the entire 2014 season (six).
- Valeria Ortiz spearheaded the record-breaking day with five service aces, besting her previous career high of three (Sept. 13, 2024 - with Arkansas State).
- Despite entering the match with no aces across her first nine career appearances, Makinsey Jones tallied four in Saturday’s win.
- Ally Tribe (three) and Alyssa Manitzas (two) rounded out the quartet of Roadrunners with multiple aces on the day.
- Megan Hawkins recorded her first start of 2026, setting first for the Navy & Orange on Saturday.
- The Roadrunners remained undefeated in second sets this season, improving to 2-0 with a 25-20 margin against SIUE.
- Four Roadrunners finished the match with at least 30 attempts: Bryant (44), Kpea (31), Mason (30) and Tredwell (30).
- Giada Obregon stood out defensively with 20 digs, reaching a mark she surpassed just five times as a freshman.
- Gigi Mason (.333), Sydney Bryant (.341) and Makinsey Jones (.400) combined for an efficient 40 total kills on a .345 hitting percentage.
- Bryant’s team-high 21 kills were the most in her young career and any Roadrunner this season.
- Ally Tribe posted her squad’s second double-double of the young season with 11 kills and 13 digs.
- Ledisi Kpea and Makinsey Jones each notched four total blocks to pace UTSA in the win.
UP NEXT
On Sunday, UTSA gets its shot at the undefeated hosts at 1 p.m. Arkansas (2-0) awaits across the net in the Roadrunners’ final matchup of the weekend. Head coach Carol Price-Torok eyes a win against the program she called home from 2008-15 and hopes for a return to San Antonio above .500 with the program’s eighth-ever SEC win. All the action will be streamed live on SEC Network+ 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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