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HOUSTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team closed out the HBU Classic with a 1-3 (25-22, 21-25, 21-25, 18-25) loss to host Houston Baptist University (HBU) on Saturday at Sharp Gym.
 
Freshman Pamela Moreira led UTRGV (2-1) with 19 kills, 12 digs and two blocks. Junior Barbara Silva recorded 13 kills with two blocks. Senior Alexandra Ecker finished with 10 kills on .400 hitting and four blocks. Sophomore Debora Nazario dished out 45 assists while senior Gysell Zayas recorded 25 digs.
 
Mikayla Vivens led HBU (3-0) with 17 kills and 14 digs.Megan Patillo, Kelly Colwell and Ashtyn Richey all finished with 12 kills. Madison O'Brien recorded 46 assists, 13 digs and five blocks. 
 
HBU was in control early in the first set, going up 16-10 on a Vivens kill. UTRGV responded by scoring four of the next five points, including a pair of Moreira kills, to pull within two. UTRGV still trailed at 16-19, but won three-straight serves, capped by a block by Moreira and junior McAllen Memorial alum Draik Banks, to tie the set. Then, with the set tied at 22, Moreira came up with two kills to help UTRGV score the final three points en route to a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
UTRGV led by as much as four in the second set, going up 18-14 on an ace by senior Antonela Jularic. UTRGV still had the lead at 21-19 after a Silva kill before HBU scored the final six points to tie the match.
 
UTRGV led early in the third set, going up 8-7 on a Jularic ace, but HBU responded with an 8-2 run to take control of the set.
 
HBU rode that momentum into the fourth set, as with the score tied at 4, HBU went on a 10-2 run to push the match out of reach.
 
UTRGV opens up the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

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