KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team closed out the first half of Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play with a 1-3 (17-25, 19-25, 25-17, 16-25) loss to the Kansas City Roos on Saturday at Swinney Recreation Center.
 
Senior Barbara Silva led the Vaqueros (10-12, 4-4 WAC) with 13 kills and two blocks. Sophomore Sarah Cruz recorded nine kills with five digs, four blocks and two aces. Junior Veronika Jandova finished with eight kills and five blocks. Junior Debora Nazario dished out 39 assists with seven digs. Junior Samaret Caraballo recorded a team-high 15 digs while senior Paulina Ramirez had 10 digs.
 
Alicia Harrington led the Roos (10-8, 6-2 WAC) with 13 kills, seven digs and four blocks. Mykal Sadler recorded 12 kills on .478 hitting with four blocks. Melanie Brecka also had 12 kills.
 
The Vaqueros jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set on two kills and two blocks by Silva. The Roos responded with an 18-7 run to go up 19-13. A pair of kills by freshman Victoire Nama helped the Vaqueros win four of the next six serves to pull within 17-21, but that's as close as they got.
 
The Roos led 8-4 at the start of the second set. Two kills by Silva and one by Cruz helped the Vaqueros climb to within 9-10. The Vaqueros were still within one at 18-19 on an ace by sophomore McAllen alum Carter Helmcamp, but the Roos closed the set on a 6-1 run to go up 2-0.
 
The third set was tight early, with the first two-point lead coming at 11-9 Vaqueros on a block by Cruz and Jandova. One serve later, the Vaqueros went on a 4-0 run, capped by a Jandova kill, to take a 15-10 lead. The Vaqueros pushed their lead to 21-15 on an error. Then, with the score 22-17, kills by Cruz and Jandova and an error ended the set.
 
A pair of Cruz kills and a Caraballo ace helped the Vaqueros jump out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth set. The Vaqueros still led at 6-4 on a Cruz ace, and the score was tied a 10 on a kill by senior Talita Oliveira before the Roos went on a 15-6 run to end the match.
 
UTRGV plays six of its final eight WAC contests at home, start on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Seattle U at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at UTRGVTickets.com. Fans purchasing their tickets online prior to match day can save up to $2 per ticket. Doors open at 6.

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