Photo Gallery

EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team won the home opener 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-14, 25-21) over the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) on Tuesday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
Senior Ragni Steen Knudsen led UTRGV (5-3) with 14 kills and eight digs. Senior Antonela Jularic recorded 12 kills, nine digs and two aces. Junior Barbara Silva posted her second double-double with 10 kills, 12 digs and two aces.
 
Julia Monday led UIW (0-7) with 11 kills, nine digs and four blocks.
 
After dropping the first set, UTRGV jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set. UTRGV went up by four for the first time at 8-4 on an attack error. UIW came back to tie the set at 10 before a Silva kill sparked a 4-0 run to put UTRGV up 14-10. Then, with the score 15-12, a Silva kill, a pair of Jularic kills and an ace by senior Gysell Zayas put UTRGV up 19-12. UTRGV led by as much as eight at 22-14 before going on to tie the match at 1.
 
UIW took its largest lead of the match at 7-4 early in the third set. After UTRGV went up 10-9 on a block by Silva and junior Talita Oliveira, UIW scored three in a row to take the lead. UIW still had the lead at 13-12 when three Kundsen kills, two Jularic kills and one kill each by senior Alexandra Ecker and freshman Pamela Moreira powered a 13-1 run to end the set with UTRGV up 2-1.
 
UIW led 7-6 early in the fourth set before a Knudsen kill sparked an 11-5 run to put UTRGV up 17-11. UIW won four of the next five serves to pull within three. Then, after UTRGV pushed its lead to 22-16, UIW scored four-straight points, including a pair of Monday kills, to climb within two. Knudsen answered with a kill, though, as UTRGV won three of the last four serves to end the match.
 
UTRGV opens up the Baylor Classic on Friday at 3 p.m. against Rice.

Support UTRGV Volleyball | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube