NEW ORLEANS, La. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley volleyball team opened up the Allstate Sugar Bowl Tournament by beating host Tulane 3-1 (25-27, 25-19, 25-21, 25-23) on Friday at Devlin Fieldhouse.
 
Junior Bojana Mitrovic led UTRGV (3-1) with 19 kills, 10 digs and five blocks. Sophomore Ragni Steen Knudsen recorded 16 kills and 10 digs. Junior Fatoumata Dacosta posted a match-high 26 digs while sophomore Dubravka Vukoja dished out a match-high 32 assists.
 
Tea Juric led Tulane (3-1) with 14 kills and 16 digs. Hannah Shaw recorded 12 kills. Dayna Kern posted a match-high nine blocks with eight kills on .389 hitting.
 
After Tulane used a 15-6 run to come back from down seven to beat UTRGV in the first set, UTRGV rebounded in a big way. With the second set tied at nine, UTRGV went on a 7-2 run capped by a Mitrovic kill to go up 16-11. Then, after Tulane scored five-straight to pull within one, Mitrovic came up with back-to-back kills and four overall to fuel a 9-4 run to end the set.
 
Tulane led 6-2 out of the gate in the third set, but UTRGV came back to tie it at 9 on a Mitrovic kill before taking a 12-11 lead on a bad set. UTRGV again trailed late in the set, going down 18-20, but kills by Knudsen and Mitrovic tied it. A Sarah Ray kill put Tulane back in front, but UTRGV scored the final five points, thanks in part to a pair of kills by sophomore Barbara Thais Krug, to end the set.
 
Tulane jumped out to an early lead in the fourth set as well, going up 7-2, 8-3, 8-4, 11-6 and 12-7. A Knudsen kill kicked off an 8-4 run as UTRGV pulled within 15-16, but Tulane scored five of the next six points to push its lead back out to five. Freshman Barbara Silva and Knudsen responded with kills, and then after an error gave Tulane the serve back, Mitrovic came up with three kills as part of a 7-1 run to end the match.
 
UTRGV continues the tournament on Saturday at 10 a.m. against Sam Houston State before facing Bethune-Cookman at 4:30 p.m.

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