BEAUMONT – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team saw its five-match winning streak snapped with a 1-3 (25-16, 22-25, 23-25, 21-25) loss to the Chicago State University on Saturday at Lamar's McDonald Gym.
 
The Vaqueros (13-7, 5-2 WAC) are now in second place in the Southwest Division, half a match behind Sam Houston (6-2 WAC) and half a match ahead of Stephen F. Austin (5-3 WAC).
 
Junior Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros with 14 kills and nine digs. Sophomore Maria Eduarda Rodrigues posted 12 kills on .333 hitting. Senior Veronika Jandova recorded nine kills on .444 hitting and four blocks. Sophomore Luisa Silva Dos Santos posted eight kills, three blocks, two aces and three assists. Freshman Luanna Emiliano posted 46 assists, nine digs and three aces.
 
Yanis Feliz led the Cougars (13-7, 5-3 WAC) with 30 kills, 13 digs, three aces and three blocks. Mesalina Severino finished with 10 kills.
 
Down 2-3 to start the first set, the Vaqueros used a block and a kill by Charitonidi to spark an 8-2 run that made the score 10-5. The Cougars pulled to within three at 9-12, but the Vaqueros responded with another 8-2 run, capped by a Jandova block, to go up 20-11. The Cougars got as close as 16-22 when kills by Cruz and Santos helped the Vaqueros win the final three serves.
 
The Cougars opened the second set by taking a 13-2 lead. The Vaqueros came back in a big way, as down 15-23, a kill and two aces by junior Yasmim da Silva sparked a 7-1 run to bring the Vaqueros within 22-24 before a Feliz kill ended the set.
 
A pair of Emiliano aces helped the Vaqueros score the first four points of the third set. The Cougars came back to take the lead at 9-8 and the set stayed within two points until the Cougars went up 19-16. The Vaqueros responded with three-straight points as part of a 5-1 run to take the lead. Three servers later, da Silva and Cruz came up with kills to tie the set at 23, but the Cougars got the final two points to take the set.
 
The Cougars jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the fourth set. The Vaqueros pulled within 5-6 on an ace by sophomore Ioanna Charitonidi before the Cougars went on a 4-0 run to go up 10-5. The Vaqueros responded with three-straight points, but the Cougars followed with a 6-1 run to take a 16-9 lead. The Vaqueros won four of the next five serves to climb within 13-17. Then, with the score 14-20, a Charitonidi kill sparked a 4-0 run to bring the Vaqueros within 18-20. One serve later, a Cruz kill made the score 19-21. The Cougars scored the next two points before another Cruz kill brough the Vaqueros within 20-23. One serve later, a Rodrigues kill made the score 21-24, but a Feliz kill ended the match.
 
UTRGV is back in action on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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