BEAUMONT – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team earned its first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) victory of the season, sweeping the Lamar University Cardinals 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-14) on Saturday at McDonald Gym.
 
Junior Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros (9-6, 1-1 WAC) with 12 kills on .524 hitting and three blocks. Sophomore Luisa Silva Dos Santos recorded nine kills on .600 hitting and a career-high eighth blocks. Senior Veronika Jandova finished with six kills on .500 hitting. Freshman Luanna Emiliano dished out 27 assists.
 
Amber Johnson led the Cardinals (4-11, 0-1 WAC) with seven kills.
 
Sophomore Maria Eduarda Rodrigues and Santos came up with a pair of early kills to help the Vaqueros jump out to a 4-1 lead in the first set. Then, with the score 5-3, a kill by sophomore Ioanna Charitonidi sparked a 6-1 run to put the Vaqueros up 11-4. The Cardinals won the next three serves and were still close at 12-17 when a Santos kill started an 8-2 run to end the set.
 
The second set was tight early, but with the score tied at 6, a pair of Cruz kills fueled a 7-0 run to put the Vaqueros up 13-6. Then, with the score 13-8, the Vaqueros went on another 7-0 run, capped by a Rodrigues kill, to go up 20-8 and push the set out of reach.
 
The third set was tight early as well, but with the score tied at 5, freshman Perris Key came up with a kill and an ace to spark a 10-3 run to put the Vaqueros up 15-8. The Cardinals followed with 3-0 run before the Vaqueros scored three-straight points to go up 18-11. One serve later, the Vaqueros went on a 7-2 run, capped by a Santos block, to end the match.
 
UTRGV is back in action on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Abilene Christian (6-7, 0-2 WAC). Those unable to attend the match in person can watch in the United States on ESPN+ or internationally on the WAC Digital Network.

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