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LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The fifth-seeded University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team knocked off fourth-seeded UMKC 3-2 (21-25, 33-31, 25-13, 23-25, 20-18) in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday at the Pan American Center.
 
With the win, UTRGV (19-13) ties the NCAA DI program record for wins, previously set in 2003 and 1996. UTRGV has also assured itself of the highest winning percentage in NCAA DI program history. UTRGV continues its historic season on Friday at 8:30 p.m. against top-seeded and host New Mexico State.
 
Junior Bojana Mitrovic led UTRGV with 23 kills on .340 hitting and five blocks. Senior Alisha Watson recorded 16 kills on .556 hitting. Sophomore Ragni Steen Knudsen posted 13 kills on .310 hitting with a career-high five aces, eight digs and two blocks. Sophomore Alexandra Ecker had eight kills without an error on 13 attacks for a .533 hitting percentage. Senior Joanna Boronczyk posted a career-high eight blocks.
 
Emma Hagedorn led UMKC (15-13) with 21 kills on .405 hitting and five blocks. Madison Mosier had 21 kills, seven digs and three blocks. Alicia Harrington recorded 15 kills on .357 hitting. Devan Porter finished with 11 kills, four aces, nine digs and two blocks.
 
UTRGV outhit UMKC .351-to-.268.
 
After dropping the first set. UTRGV found itself locked in a tight second set early. With UTRGV down 10-12, an Ecker kill sparked a 10-3 run to put UTRGV up 20-15. UTRGV still led by five at 21-16 after a Knudsen kill, but Mosier bookended a 5-0 run with kills to tie the set at 21. A pair of Mitrovic kills helped UTRGV go up 23-22, but Porter responded with a kill and an ace to give UMKC set point. A Watson kill allowed UTRGV to pull even and an error made it set point. UTRGV also reached set point at 26-25 on an error, 27-26 on a Watson kill, 28-27 on a Knudsen kill, and 29-28 and 30-29 on kills by freshman Barbara Silva. Kills by Hagedorn and Kaylyn Brandt gave UMKC set point, but after an error, Silva served up an ace and Watson ended the set with a kill.
 
UTRGV jumped out to a 13-1 lead in the third set on the power of four aces, including three by Knudsen and one by junior Tina Sekulic, and three blocks by Mitrovic and Boronczyk. UMKC scored back-to-back points for the first time on a pair of Porter kills that made it 16-6, but three Knudsen kills powered a 5-1 run to push the set out of reach.
 
The fourth set was close early, as it was tied at 9 on a Boronczyk kill, but UMKC responded with a 15-6 run, thanks in-part to four Harrington kills, to reach set point at 24-15. UMKC followed with three-straight attack errors, and then back-to-back Knudsen aces brought UTRGV within four. After another error, Mitrovic came up with a kill and then Boronczyk and Silva combined on a block to make it a one-point set, but a block by Porter and Mosier snapped the 8-0 run to end the set.
 
UTRGV and UMKC traded points over the first 10 serves of the fifth set, but kills by Mosier and Mykal Sadler gave UMKC a 7-5 lead. A Watson kill and an error allowed UTRGV to tie it at 7. UTRGV also tied the set at 8 on an error and 9 on a Mitrovic kill before taking a 10-9 lead on another Mitrovic kill. UMKC scored the next two to take the lead, but UTRGV tied it back up on a Mitrovic kill. UMKC went up 12-11 on a Hagedorn kill, but UTRGV tied it on a service error. UMKC took the lead back on a block by Brandt and Sadler before UTRGV tied the set at 13 on a Knudsen kill. UMKC reached match point on a Mosier kill, but a Watson kill tied the set. Another Mosier kill made it match point again before UTRGV tied it on a block by Mitrovic and Boronczyk. UTRGV reached match point on a Mitrovic kill, but UMKC tied it at 16 on a Mosier kill. Another Mitrovic kill gave UTRGV match point again before UMKC tied it on a service error. A block by Harrington and Hagedorn gave UMKC match point, but a Mitrovic kill tied the set before UTRGV won it on a pair of attack errors.

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