BOCA RATON, Fla. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team fell to Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) 0-3 (15-25, 25-27, 25-27) in the Owls Classic on Saturday at FAU Arena.
Senior
Alisha Watson led UTRGV (7-5) with 11 kills, five digs and two blocks. Sophomore
Ragni Steen Knudsen also finished with 11 kills while junior
Bojana Mitrovic recorded eight kills, 10 digs and two blocks.
Amanda Carroll led FGCU (10-2) with 21 kills on .296 hitting, 12 digs and four blocks.
FGCU jumped out to leads of 6-1 and 7-2 in the first set. After UTRGV took advantage of back-to-back attack errors to pull within three, FGCU scored five-straight points to go up 12-4. Then, with the score 20-14, FGCU scored four in a row to put the set away.
FGCU led 3-1 in the second set, but a kill by freshman
Barbara Silva and a Knudsen ace allowed UTRGV to take its first lead of the match. UTRGV went up 6-4 on a block by Mitrovic, junior
Tina Sekulic and sophomore
Alexandra Ecker before FGCU scored four-straight to regain the lead. FGCU pushed its lead out to 19-13 on a
Leigh Pudwill kill, but a pair of Mitrovic kills helped UTRGV go on a 4-1 run to pull within three. After an error and a Carroll kill put FGCU up 22-17, an Ecker kill sparked a 6-1 run to tie the set at 23. Carroll kills gave FGCU set point at 24-23 and 25-24, but Knudsen responded with kills each time to tie it. After a service error, though, a Pudwill kill ended the set.
FGCU led 3-1 in the third set as well, but a Watson kill sparked a 7-1 run to put UTRGV up 8-4. UTRGV extended its lead to 13-8 on a Watson ace before FGCU went on a 5-1 run to pull within one. UTRGV pushed its lead back out to three at 20-17 on a Knudsen kill and still led at 22-20 on another Knudsen kill. FGCU scored the next three before a Mitrovic kill tied the set. FGCU reached match point on a block by
Marlene Moeller and
Kaitlan Krivdo, but after an attack error, Sekulic served up an ace to give UTRGV set point at 25-24. FGCU bounced back with two Carroll kills to score the final three points and complete the sweep.
UTRGV wraps up the tournament against host Florida Atlantic at 1:30 p.m.
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