LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros volleyball team opened Western Athletic Conference play with a 0-3 (18-25, 18-25, 17-25) loss to the New Mexico State University Aggies on Saturday at the Pan American Center.
 
Sophomore Bojana Mitrovic led the Vaqueros (7-8, 0-1 WAC) with nine kills. Freshman Alexandra Ecker had seven kills on .312 hitting. Junior Alisha Watson also had seven kills.
 
Nathali Castellanos led the Aggies (10-5, 1-0 WAC) with 10 kills on .429 hitting. Gwen Murphy had eight kills with no errors in 11 attacks for a .727 hitting percentage. Bradley Nash and Sasha-Lee Thomas had seven kills each.
 
Murphy had a pair of early kills as the Aggies jumped out to a 9-2 first set lead. The Vaqueros still trailed by seven at 3-10 with Ecker came up with two kills in a span of three serves to help the Vaqueros close to within four. The Vaqueros pulled within one when, down 9-14, senior Haley Durham and Mitrovic had kills, junior Megan Dempsey served up an ace, and Jordan Abalos made an attack error. The Aggies, however, scored six of the next seven points to pull away for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Aggies took an early lead in the second set as well, going up 6-1 thanks in part to a pair of kills by Nash. The Vaqueros were still down five at 2-7 when Durham and Dempsey combined on a block to spark a 5-1 run, capped by a Durham ace, to pull within 7-8. A Castellanos kill, however, was the first of five-straight points and an 8-1 run by the Aggies en route to a 2-0 lead.
 
The Vaqueros scored five of the last six points of the second set and kept that momentum going at the start of the third set, taking their first lead at 3-2 on a block by Durham and Ecker. The Vaqueros extended their lead to two twice, including 9-7 on a Watson kill. A little later, with the set tied at 12, however, Tatyana Battle came up with back-to-back kills to kick off a 7-2 run as the Aggies pulled away for the sweep.
 
The Vaqueros return home on Thursday at 7 p.m. when they face Missouri-Kansas City at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Doors open at 6.

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