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EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team opened up the UTRGV Tournament with a 3-2 (16-25, 25-19, 25-21, 24-26, 15-9) victory over the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) on Friday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
Senior Bojana Mitrovic led UTRGV (5-7) with 15 kills and 11 digs for her third double-double of the season. Junior Ragni Steen Knudsen recorded 10 kills and a season-high 16 digs for her third double-double. Junior Alexandra Ecker recorded 10 kills on .438 hitting with four blocks while sophomore Barbara Silva finished with 10 kills and three blocks.
 
Autumn Lockley led UIW (1-5) with 20 kills, nine digs and two blocks. Cameron Edwards finished with 14 kills and 12 digs.
 
After dropping the first set, UTRGV jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the second set thanks in-part to kills by Mitrovic and sophomore Talita Oliveira. Madison Williams came up with a pair of kills to help UIW pull within 8-9 before UTRGV won four of the next five serves to go up 13-9. UTRGV pushed its lead to five on an ace by freshman McAllen alum Kellie Woodin that made the score 19-14. Then, with UTRGV's lead cut to 22-19, Knudsen recorded a kill and two aces to end the set.
 
Kills by Oliveira, Silva and Mitrovic allowed UTRGV to jump out to a 5-1 lead in the third set. UIW pulled as close as one at 15-16 before kills by Ecker, Knudsen and Mitrovic allowed UTRGV to push its lead to 21-17. UIW later pulled within 20-22 but got no closer as UTRGV took a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
After UIW pulled out the fourth set, UTRGV and UIW traded points over the first eight serves. But with the scored tied at 4, an Ecker kill and a block by Ecker and Silva helped UTRGV win four-straight serves. UIW pulled within 9-11 on a Williams kill before two kills by Knudsen, a block by Oliveira and a block by Oliveira and junior Dubravka Vukoja ended the match.
 
UTRGV wraps up the tournament during Youth Day on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Texas Southern. Children 13 years and under will receive free admission with the purchase of an adult ticket. The first 150 kids in attendance will receive a UTRGV spirit pack including a drawstring backpack, wristband, sticker, temporary tattoo, and pom pom. UTRGV student-athletes will be taking photos with and signing autographs for kids after the match. Doors open at 3.
 
Texas Southern faces Incarnate Word in the first match of the day at 11 a.m. Doors open at 10.

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