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EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team served up a season-high tying 10 aces to open the UTRGV Tournament with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-23) victory over Texas Southern University (TSU) on Friday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
Junior Samaret Caraballo led UTRGV (6-6) with a career-high five aces and 18 digs. Junior Paulina Ramirez and sophomore Sarah Cruz each served up two aces while freshman Ioanna Charitonidi served one ace with three kills, two assists and five digs. Senior Barbara Silva recorded a team-high six kills while junior Los Fresnos alum Jackie Kingsbury posted five kills with two blocks.
 
Alexis Austin led TSU (1-6) with six kills, 12 digs and two aces. Jada Hall also had six kills.
 
UTRGV scored the first six points of the match, going up 9-1 thanks in-part to kills by Cruz, senior McAllen Memorial alum Draik Banks and Silva. UTRGV extended its lead to 14-4 on an error. TSU pulled to within three at 13-16 before a Cruz killed helped UTRGV score back-to-back points as part of a 9-2 run to end the set.
 
Senior Talita Oliveira started the second set with a kill as UTRGV jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Then, back-to-back kills by Banks and Kingsbury put UTRGV up 8-3. UTRGV pushed its lead to 21-12 on an error. UTRGV then went up 24-14 on an error before winning the set on a service error.
 
The third set was tight early, with UTRGV going down 10-11 by an error. That's when a Charitonidi kill and back-to-back aces by Caraballo put UTRGV up 14-11. TSU regained the lead multiple times, including at 21-20 before a Kingsbury kill tied the set and a block by Kingsbury and Oliveira gave UTRGV the lead. One serve later, UTRGV took the lead on an error, but TSU tied the set at 23. A Silva kill gave UTRGV match point and a Caraballo ace ended the match.
 
UTRGV hosts Washington State, which is receiving votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, at 7 p.m. It's both Greek Night and Alumni Night. The first 100 Greeks in attendance will receive a Greek Life t-shirt. The first 20 Greek alumni will also receive a t-shirt. Alumni of UTRGV and legacy institutions UTPA and UTB can receive discounted tickets at the box office by showing their email invitations. If you haven't received an invitation, please call the alumni office at (956) 665-2500.

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