The UTSA volleyball team’s annual Senior Day ceremony was winding down on Nov. 9 at the Convocation Center. Caroline Krueger, Kaitlin Leider and Ilaria Durante had been presented with framed jerseys and flowers and were now taking photos with friends, family and coaches.

As the remaining crowd began to filter out of the facility, a cheer came from a group of players. Word had gotten out that UTSA had just defeated Rice 1-0 in overtime to capture the American Athletic Conference women’s soccer postseason tournament crown and an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I championships. The Roadrunners fell to Texas Tech 2-1 in the first round on Nov. 14.

A seed was planted through the thrill of another team’s victory.

“I think that soccer making it as far as it did has been a huge motivational push for us,” UTSA graduate outside hitter Brooke Elliott said. “Them kind of being the catalyst of what UTSA can do in the American Conference has given us a boost in that regard. Seeing their joy and their fight in those crucial moments, knowing that the end of their season may not have ended the way they wanted, but still to be able to make it far in the tournament definitely gives us a lot of hope for our program.”

UTSA (13-14) opens the AAC single-elimination postseason volleyball tournament vs. No. 1 seed Rice (19-8) at 10 a.m. Friday in Tampa, Florida. Rice coach Genny (Wood) Volpe is a Clark High School graduate and was a standout player on the Cougars’ first team to advance to the UIL state tournament in 1989.

The Owls have won 20 consecutive matches vs. UTSA, including twice in sweeps this season. The Roadrunners enter the postseason off back-to-back losses to Florida Atlantic and South Florida and with six setbacks in their last eight contests. They needed help from other teams to qualify for the tournament on a tiebreaker.

UTSA’s soccer team was in a similar situation a few weeks ago, losing three of its final four regular-season games before catching fire at the perfect time. The club topped Alabama-Birmingham, No. 1 seed Memphis in the semifinals in penalty kicks after overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the final 5 1/2 minutes, and outlasted Rice in overtime in the AAC finale.

“It doesn’t matter what your record is, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done,” said UTSA coach Carol Price-Torok, who is leading her squad to the AAC tournament for the first time during its three seasons in the league. “You win and you move on. You lose and you go home. We just need to focus on the task at hand. When tournament time comes, it’s more pressure for teams. You never know how teams are going to play, how teams are going to compete. At the end of the day, the slate is wiped clean. Our goal was to get here and make a run in the tournament. It doesn’t matter what seed we got or who that opponent is. If we’re playing our best ball, we’ll give Rice a run for their money and can really do some good things against them. That needs to be the message for our players.”

The message has been received loud and clear by the players, who hope to find a winning groove after a regular season in which they struggled to find consistency.

“It does get a little frustrating because, again, we are a young team and we’re still trying to figure things out,” said freshman libero and Floresville graduate Giada Obregon. “We just keep trying to keep each other up, keep each other together, and keep playing as strong as we can because that’s what we need. We’re right there. We just need to finish. I just feel, in me, it’s going to happen when we get there. We’ve been working so hard this whole season, and now it’s time to put it to the test.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
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