SEATTLE, Wash. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team, the defending Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Champions, opened up their title defense with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-20) victory over Seattle U on Thursday at the Redhawk Center.
 
Sophomore Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros (7-8, 1-0 WAC) with 15 kills on .321 hitting, nine digs and two blocks. Senior Barbara Silva recorded 14 kills on .591 hitting. Freshman Victoire Nama posted nine kills with five digs while junior Veronika Jandova added seven kills. Junior Debora Nazario dished out 31 assists.
 
Rachel Stark led the Redhawks (9-6, 0-1 WAC) with 13 kills and three blocks. Eve Kerschenbaum recorded 10 kills on .400 hitting.
 
Junior Samaret Caraballo served up aces on three of the match's first six serves to help the Vaqueros jump out to a 7-0 lead in the first set. The Redhawks climbed to within 6-10 when a Cruz kill sparked a 4-0 run to put the Vaqueros up eight. The Redhawks then pulled to within 18-20 before kills by Cruz and Silva helped the Vaqueros score three-straight points to push the set out of reach.
 
Silva recorded two kills to open up the second set as the Vaqueros jumped out to a 6-1 lead. The Vaqueros pushed their lead to 10-4 on back-to-back Cruz kills, and then 12-6, 17-9 and 19-10 on errors. The Redhawks pulled to within 17-23 before a Nama kill and an error ended the set. 
 
The Vaqueros got off to a fast start in the third set as well, going up 5-1 on a block by Jandova and Cruz and 8-3 on a Cruz kill. The Redhawks won the next seven serves to take the lead. Then, with the score 9-11, the Vaqueros went on an 11-5 run that featured two Nama kills and two Cruz kills to go up 20-16. Then, with the score 22-19, two Silva kills and a Nama kill ended the match.
 
UTRGV is back in action on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Utah Valley.

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