Photo Gallery

EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team won its home opener 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-13) over Prairie View A&M (PVAM) on Tuesday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in front of a raucous crowd of 1,065.
 
Senior Alisha Watson led UTRGV (9-5) with 11 kills on .364 hitting and five digs. Sophomore Ragni Steen Knudsen finished with nine kills on .348 hitting, six digs and three blocks. Freshman Barbara Silva recorded seven kills with five blocks. Sophomore Dubravka Vukoja recorded 21 assists, five digs and five blocks in two sets.
 
Larissa Martinez led PVAM (1-9) with eight kills and five digs.
 
PVAM jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first set, but kills and a block by Silva and sophomore Barbara Thais Krug helped UTRGV go on a 6-1 run to take the lead. Then, with the scored tied at 10, sophomore Alexandra Ecker recorded back-to-back kills to spark a 13-6 run to push the set out of reach.
 
Watson opened the second set with consecutive kills as UTRGV jumped out to a 7-1 lead. UTRGV extended its lead to 10-2 on a Silva kill, 13-3 on a block by Vukoja, Silva and Knudsen and 17-4 on an Ecker kill en route to a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
PVAM led 2-1 at the start of the third set, but three Watson kills and two Knudsen kills powered an 11-0 run as UTRGV took a 12-2 lead. PVAM climbed to within 12-19 late, but back-to-back Watson kills and a Kndusen ace pushed the match out of reach.
 
UTRGV opens WAC play on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Utah Valley at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. The first 200 fans in attendance will receive a free UTRGV tank top. Doors open at 6.

Support UTRGV Volleyball | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube