PROVO, Utah – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team opened the 2017 season with a 0-3 (17-25, 11-25, 15-25) loss to No. 21 Ohio State at the BYU Invitational at Smith Fieldhouse.
 
Senior Bojana Mitrovic led UTRGV (0-1) with eight kills. Junior Ragni Steen Knudsen finished with seven kills and five digs. Freshman Veronika Jandova recorded six kills on .600 hitting while junior Alexandra Ecker came up with five kills on .333 hitting. Junior Dubravka Vukoja dished out 24 assists while junior Gysell Zayas posted 14 digs.
 
Ashley Wenz led Ohio State (1-0) with 13 kills on .667 hitting. Taylor Hughes recorded nine kills with a match-high 33 assists. Hannah Gruensfelder posted 14 digs.
 
Knudsen started the first set with a pair of kills to give UTRGV a 1-0 lead and keep the set tied at 2. Ohio State responded with a 9-2 run to go up 11-4, and still led by seven at 12-5 before an Ecker kill and two Jandova kills helped UTRGV pull within 9-13. Two serves later though, with the score 10-14, Ohio State scored eight of the next 12 points to pull away.
 
UTRGV jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second set thanks in-part two a pair of Jandova kills. Ohio State scored the next four points to take the lead, but a Zayas ace helped UTRGV pull even at 5-5. Ohio State responded by winning the next four serves as part of a 9-1 run to push the set out of reach.
 
A pair of Mitrovic kills, an Ecker kill and a kill by freshman Los Fresnos alum Jackie Kingsbury allowed UTRGV to take a 6-2 lead in the third set. UTRGV still led by four at 9-5 on a Knudsen kill, and then, after Ohio State scored four-straight, 10-9 on a Mitrovic kill. Ohio State, however, scored the next six points as part of an 8-1 run to take the lead for good.
 
UTRGV faces No. 10 BYU at 8:30 p.m.

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