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EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team closed out non-conference play by winning the UTRGV Tournament Championship after beating Texas Southern 3-0 (25-11, 25-7, 25-13) on Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
The seven points allowed by UTRGV (6-7) in the second set are the fewest given up in a set since Aug. 27, 2016, when UTRGV beat Prairie View A&M 25-7 in the second set of an eventual 3-0 win.
 
Junior Ragni Steen Knudsen recorded a game-high 12 kills on .370 hitting with six digs. Senior Bojana Mitrovic recorded eight kills with a season-high 15 digs. Junior Dubravka Vukoja posted her second double-double of the season with 35 assists and a season-high tying 12 digs. Junior Gysell Zayas recorded a career-high tying 18 digs. Sophomore Barbara Silva finished with six kills on .385 hitting and three blocks. Junior Alexandra Ecker recorded five kills on .556 hitting with four blocks. Sophomore Talita Oliveira recorded five kills on .400 hitting with three blocks. Freshman Los Fresnos alum Jackie Kingsbury posted four kills on .429 hitting.
 
Kirby Anderson led Texas Southern (1-5) with five kills.
 
A trio of early Silva kills allowed UTRGV to jump out to a 9-1 lead in the first set. Texas Southern close to within 8-16, but two more Silva kills as well as kills by Mitrovic, Knudsen and Oliveira allowed UTRGV to pull away.
 
UTRGV won the first eight serves of the second set thanks in part to three Knudsen kills. UTRGV extended its lead to 13-3 on a Zayas ace and 20-6 on a Knudsen kill. Then, with the score 20-7, Kingsbury made her home debut and recorded a pair of kills to end the set.
 
Texas Southern jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the third set, but back-to-back Mitrovic kills allowed UTRGV to pull even. Then, after an Anderson kill put Texas Southern ahead again, Ecker and Knudsen each recorded three kills to power a 13-2 run that put UTRGV up 16-6 and pushed the set out of reach.
 
Reigning Western Athletic Conference Tournament Champion UTRGV opens up WAC play against two-time defending regular season WAC Champion New Mexico State on Saturday at 12 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. The first 200 fans in attendance will receive signs that say "Point UTRGV." Doors open at 11 a.m.

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