At times, the UTSA volleyball team displays boundless talent and potential. In other moments, the squad showcases inconsistency. The two-steps-forward-one-step-backward journey is one the Roadrunners hope to overcome sooner rather than later.

Against the city’s other NCAA Division I program, in its home opener, UTSA bypassed the bad and found enough good to prevail in a five-set thriller vs. Incarnate Word on Thursday at the Convocation Center.

The Roadrunners (2-2) outlasted Incarnate Word 25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 12-25, 15-8 in the opener of the UTSA Invitational. They conclude the tournament vs. Tarleton State at 6 p.m. Friday.

“A lot of credit to Incarnate Word defensively, and the pressure they put on us from the service line,” UTSA coach Carol Price-Torok said. “(It’s) always hard to play them, just because of the rivalry, but also because they’re really well-coached. They do really, really great stuff, and they’re very clean. At the end of the day, a win’s a win, and so we’re grateful for that.”

Torok is also appreciative of redshirt freshman outside hitter Sydney Bryant, who had a match-high 18 kills and has led the team in that category in each of the first four matches of this season. She is thankful for redshirt junior defensive specialist Alyssa Manitzas’ steadying influence and junior outside hitter Isabella Arroyave’s career-best effort off the bench. The contributions from those players were instrumental as the Roadrunners started and finished strong. They dominated at the net with 12 blocks, with junior Caroline Tredwell tallying 3 1/2. Ledisi Kpea, a redshirt junior middle blocker, added 2 1/2, and Bryant and graduate outside hitter Brooke Elliott chipped in two apiece.

“I think we’ve just got to continue to find our groove and make sure that when things aren’t what we need them to be, that we take care of the ball a little more,” Torok said.

The scenario played out that way. Arroyave, who hails from Colombia and has played sparingly in her first two seasons, subbed in during the second set and notched five kills, a career-best 10 digs and a block. A summer playing for her country’s senior national team at the Copa Sudamericana in Peru has done a world of good for Arroyave.

“Coach Carol tells us, ‘You need to be ready. You never know when your name is going to be called.’ Today was the day. Today, they called me. I was just trusting myself. My team was behind me, supporting me, too. That was really important. I was not the one who got the most kills, but I was always there passing the ball so the other people could do it. I know what I can do, and I know I contribute to my team whenever they need it.”

Incarnate Word (0-3), behind the attacking of Steele High School graduate Kitana Tu’ufuli (15 kills), Alex Beauchamp (13 kills), Vanessa Eregie (13 kills) and Sofia Grimm (nine kills), won the fourth set to even the match at 2-2 and force a decisive fifth frame. UTSA scored the final five points, with Tredwell supplying two aces and a kill during a 5-0 run after the Cardinals closed within 10-8.

“I think going into five sets, what we really emphasize in our huddle is embracing the next ball and really being connected after every single point, as well as not backing down and letting them be the aggressor,” Manitzas, a Cornerstone High School alum, said after the Roadrunners won in five sets for the second time in their past three matches. “We have to continue to be consistent, aggressive. It’s a race. I think the more we push into those longer games, mental toughness and our endurance are important. I love competing with our team, and we all speak the same language, and we all want to win, and I think that’s what’s going to make us special, it’s just finding the pieces to execute it.”

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