In parking lots outside of UTSA’s Convocation Center, the mechanism of change was in motion on a baking-hot Saturday afternoon. Parents pushed carts containing belongings to the awaiting dorm rooms. On college campuses across the nation, this is called move-in day. It’s a ritual that signifies the end of one of life’s chapters and the beginning of another.

Inside its climate-controlled arena, the UTSA volleyball team was displaying its own metamorphosis. In the previous four seasons, as Coach Carol Price-Torok underwent a program rebuild, the process has produced increments of optimism. A first-time berth last year into the American Athletic Conference postseason tournament headlined the affirmation. To seize on the momentum, Torok and assistant coach Emily DeWalt, the recruiting coordinator and a former standout setter at Brandeis High School, spent this past offseason making sure few stones went unturned. They used every connection, from parents to former players involved in the high school and club scenes, to find pieces that could help continue an ascension.

With two home matches this weekend, and coming off a 1-2 showing at the Razorback Invitational in Arkansas that was a few momentum shifts from being reversed, the Roadrunners have a prime opportunity to do as much. They face Incarnate Word (0-2) at 11 a.m. Thursday and Tarleton State (1-3) at 6 p.m. Friday in the UTSA Invitational. Incarnate Word opened the season with losses vs. Houston and LSU. Tarleton State defeated Prairie View A&M but suffered setbacks against Rice, Arizona and Santa Barbara.

“I think it’s always more fun to play at home,” Torok said. “It should be a really fun weekend. That was a good trip (to Arkansas); very productive. Obviously, a little bump that we’re only coming out with one win.”

UTSA, which sandwiched a five-set win vs. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville around four-set losses vs. Texas-Arlington and host Arkansas at the Razorback Invitational, has high aspirations for this season. The Roadrunners are taller, more athletic, experienced and possess more versatility. Sydney Bryant, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter who transferred from Vanderbilt, is among the key newcomers. She is joined by MaKinsey Jones, a 6-1 middle hitter/outside hitter who arrived from Kansas State, defensive specialist Sydney Black, who transferred from Colorado State, setter Valeria Ortiz, who was the starting setter in 2025 at Arkansas State, which captured the Sun Belt Conference crown and pushed Baylor to five sets in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Defensive specialist Alyssa Manitzas, who played at Cornerstone and Reagan, came to UTSA from Notre Dame. Ledisi Kpea is a 6-foot middle blocker/outside hitter, who a year ago started 29 matches and posted 197 kills, a team-best .242 hitting percentage and 106 total blocks for the Kansas City, which captured the Summit League Conference regular-season championship.

The influx of players, combined with returnees such as outside hitter Ally Tribe, libero Giada Obregon, a Floresville High School graduate, setter and New Braunfels Canyon alum Megan Hawkins, Caroline Tredwell, Gigi Mason, Brooke Elliott and Isabella Arroyave, is an integral reason why the Roadrunners are predicted to advance to the AAC tournament for the second straight season. They were selected to finish seventh in a preseason poll of the league’s head coaches.

“In my mind, use it as a stepping stone,” Tribe said of making the postseason a year ago. “That’s what we should strive for, and now get even higher in the seeding. It’s always good to have new faces, fresh legs, and they all have the same goals as all of us. We all get along really well.”

Bryant, who this past weekend played for the first time since her senior season in high school — she redshirted in 2025 while at Vanderbilt — totaled 47 kills in three matches last weekend, including a career-high 21 in the triumph vs. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

“It was definitely a big opportunity for me,” she said. “Obviously, nerves are going to hit. I think volleyball’s volleyball. Once you start playing, it’s like second nature.”

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