RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team closed out a four-match road trip with a 3-2 (25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 19-25, 15-13) victory over the California Baptist University Lancers on Saturday at Van Dyne Gym.
 
Senior Barbara Silva led the Vaqueros (8-10, 2-2 WAC) with 20 kills on .385 hitting. Freshman Victoire Nama finished with a career-high 16 kills on .378 hitting. Sophomore Sarah Cruz recorded 12 kills. Junior Debora Nazario posted her sixth double-double of the season with 47 assists, a career-high 21 digs and a career-high five blocks. Junior Samaret Caraballo finished with 22 digs and a career-high tying nine assists. Junior Paulina Ramirez recorded a career-high 14 digs. Junior Veronika Jandova posted a season-high tying seven blocks with seven kills. Senior Talita Oliveira had five kills with a season-high five blocks.
 
Sydney Marks led the Lancers (7-9, 1-2 WAC) with 16 kills. Christine Graf recorded 13 kills. Megan Sester finished with 10 kills. Natalie Zimmer dished out 29 assists with 10 digs.
 
The Lancers led for the majority of the first set, going up 20-15 lead. Then, after a Vaqueros timeout, Nama came up with back-to-back kills, Jandova served up an ace, and Nazario and Oliveira combined on a block to bring the Vaqueros within one. The Lancers then called timeout themselves, but on the very next play, a Cruz kill tied the set and a Jandova ace gave the Vaqueros their first lead. Oliveira followed with back-to-back blocks, the second of which was assisted on by Nazario. A Nama kill brought the Vaqueros to set point and then Cruz ended the set and the 10-0 run with a kill.
 
The second set was tight early, but up 6-5, the Vaqueros went on an 8-3 run, powered by a kill and an ace by Nama, to go up 14-8. Then, with the score 18-13, back-to-back Nama kills helped the Vaqueros go up 21-13 and never look back en route to a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
After dropping the next two sets, the Vaqueros used two kills by Silva and one each by Nama and Jandova to jump out to a 7-2 lead in the fifth set. The Lancers responded by winning the next six serves to take the lead. Silva responded with a kill to tie the set before back-to-back Jandova blocks, the second of which was assisted on by Cruz, put the Vaqueros up 10-8. Two serves later, with the score tied, Jandova and Nazario came up with kills to help the Vaqueros go up 13-10. The Lancers scored the next three points before a Jandova kill gave the Vaqueros match point and a Nama kill ended the match.
 
UTRGV plays its WAC home opener on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Grand Canyon at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. This is UTRGV's annual BelieVe in a Cure match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to show their support for the fight against cancer. 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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