KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team fell 2-3 (22-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-23, 13-15) to UMKC in a back-and-forth match on Saturday at Swinney Recreation Center.
UTRGV (13-10, 7-3 WAC) was led by junior
Ragni Steed Knudsen who recorded 19 kills and add five digs and three blocks while sophomore
Barbara Silva added 17 kills of her own while. Senior
Bojana Mitrovic recorded her 10
th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 14 digs and junior
Dubravka Vukoja recorded her sixth double-double as she paced the offense with 39 kills and chipped in 14 digs.
Alicia Harrington paced UMKC (8-16, 4-7 WAC) with a match-high 24 kills and 18 digs. Mykal Sadler added 12 kills and five blocks while Brooke Jacobs also added 12 kills with seven blocks.
UTRGV fell behind early in the first set as a kill by Jacobs made it 7-3 in favor of UMKC but UTRGV battle back for four straight points to tie the set at seven. A kill by junior
Alexandra Ecker made it 10-9 UTRGV before UMKC went on a 4-0 run to regain the lead at 13-10. Later in the set, a kill by freshman
Veronika Jandova got UTRGV within two but UMKC would not give up the lead.
In the second set, UTRGV and UMKC went back and forth as the set was tied at four after a kill by Mitrovic. UTRGV went on a 13-3 run that was capped by a Knudsen kill that made it 17-7. UMKC tried to rally back but another kill by Mitrovic closed out the set as UTRGV tied the match at one set apiece.
UMKC took control of the third set as a kill by Rhegan Spiegel gave them the 2-1 lead, which they would not give back. UTRGV got to within two after an attack error by UMKC that made it 7-9 but they would drop the next three points to fall behind 7-12. An ace by Mitrovic got UTRGV within two once again at 14-16 but it wasn't enough as UMKC took the third set.
UTRGV jumped out to the early lead in the fourth set as a kill by Silva made it 5-2. Later in the set, Silva made it 18-16 in favor of UTRGV with another kill but UMKC rallied for three straight points to take the 19-18 lead. A kill by Jandova tied the match at 20 before UTRGV scored the five of the final eight points to tie the match at two sets a piece.
Mitrovic gave UTRGV the 6-3 lead early on in the fifth set but UMKC rallied with four-straight points to take the 7-6 lead. After a kill by freshman
Jackie Kingsbury tied the match at seven, UMKC once again rallied off three straight points to take the 10-7 lead. Ecker tied the set at 13 with a kill but it was UMKC who recorded the final two points to take the set and the match.
UTRGV returns home on November 2 to host Seattle U at the UTRGV Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. The first 200 fans in attendance will receive limited edition UTRGV inspired Dia de los Muertos giveaways. Doors open at 6 p.m.
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