EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros volleyball team fell to the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals (24-26, 20-25, 17-25) in the first match of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Tournament on Friday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
Senior Haley Durham led the Vaqueros (2-3) with 11 kills on .500 hitting with four blocks. Sophomore Tina Sekulic posted her second-straight double-double with 28 assists and 13 digs.
 
Bryaunea Hall led the Cardinals (1-3) with 10 kills on .588 hitting to go with eight blocks. Taylor McClelland had a double-double with 18 assists and 10 digs.
 
The first set was tight early, as the Vaqueros tied it at 7-7 on a kill by sophomore Bojana Mitrovic. The Cardinals responded with an 11-4 run to go up 18-11. The Vaqueros still trailed by seven at 14-21, but Mitrovic, and junior Alisha Watson each came up with a kill while junior Megan Dempsey had two to power a 10-2 run and give the Vaqueros set point at 24-23. After a Cardinals timeout, however, Autumn Lockley recorded back-to-back kills before an attack error ended the set.
 
The Vaqueros took their first three-point lead of the match by going up 12-9 on a block by Durham and Watson. The Vaqeros still led by three at 15-12 on a Watson ace, but the Cardinals scored the next four points to kick of a 13-5 run to end the set.
 
The Vaqueros led 2-1 in the third set on a kill by freshman Alexandra Ecker, and led again at 6-5 on a Durham kill, but the Cardinals scored four-straight points to take the lead. The Vaqueros tied it at 14-14 on an ace by Watson before the Cardinals used a 7-0 run to put the match away.
 
The Vaqueros continue the tournament against Southern at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:30.

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