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HOUSTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team finished tied for first place at the 2019 Barcelona Sports Invitational by sweeping host Houston Baptist 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-23) on Saturday at Sharp Gym.
 
Sophomore Sarah Cruz led UTRGV (2-1) with 17 kills and 10 digs. Senior Barbara Silva recorded 11 kills on .360 hitting with two blocks. Junior Los Fresnos alum Jackie Kingsbury recorded six kills with a career-high tying 11 digs. Junior Debora Nazario dished out a match-high 33 assists with 17 digs. Junior Samaret Caraballo posted 19 digs with nine assists and two aces.
 
Anna Gadway led HBU (2-1) with 12 kills on .458 hitting. Kelly Colwell recorded 10 kills, nine digs and two aces. Mikayla Vivens had seven kills and 16 digs.
 
HBU jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set before Kingsbury recorded back-to-back kills to spark a 10-1 run that put UTRGV up 11-5. UTRGV led by as much as eight, including at 23-15 on a Colwell service error. HBU won six-straight serves to pull within two, but Cruz came up with back-to-back kills to end the set.
 
HBU led 14-8 in the second set when two kills by Silva and one each by Cruz and senior McAllen Memorial alum Draik Banks helped UTRGV go on a 6-1 run to pull within one. Then, after HBU won the next three points, back-to-back Silva kills sparked an 8-2 run to give UTRGV a 22-20 lead. UTRGV reached set point at 24-21 on a Cruz kill. Then, two serves later, another Cruz kill ended the set.
 
HBU took the lead midway through the third set as well, going up 15-10. UTRGV responded with two kills by Banks and two by Silva to power a 12-4 run and take a 22-19 lead. UTRGV reached match point at 24-20 on kills by Cruz and Nazario. Three serves later, a Gadway ball handing error ended the match.
 
UTRGV visits Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. UTRGV, the defending showdown champion, leads in the showdown standings 3-0.

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