STEPHENVILLE – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team is now on a three-match winning streak, with all of the matches coming on the road during Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play, thanks to a 3-1 (25-23, 15-25, 25-22, 25-18) victory over the Tarleton Texans on Saturday at Wisdom Gym.
 
This is the first time the Vaqueros (11-6, 3-1 WAC) have won three-straight WAC matches that were on the road since Oct. 27-to-Nov. 1, 2018 (3-2 at New Mexico State and 3-0 at Grand Canyon and Seattle U).
 
Junior Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros with 19 kills. Senior Veronika Jandova recorded a season-high 17 kills on .484 hitting. Sophomore Luisa Silva Dos Santos posted 14 kills on .407 hitting. Freshman Luanna Emiliano posted her 13^th double-double with 50 assists and 10 digs. Freshman Edinburg North alum Evana Ramos finished with 21 digs.
 
Lauren Kersey led the Texans (8-10, 1-3 WAC) with 16 kills and five blocks. Carmen Kinsey finished with 14 kills on .591 hitting. 
 
Kills by Jandova, Cruz and Santos put the Vaqueros up 3-0 to start the first set. The Texans pulled to within 4-6 before the Vaqueros went on a 5-2 run to go up 11-6. After a timeout, the Texans won three-straight serves. Cruz responded with a kill and then Emiliano served up an ace to make the score 13-9. The Texans answered with five-straight points to take their first lead at 14-13. The Texans pushed their lead to 17-15 before a kill by sophomore Maria Eduarda Rodrigues sparked a 4-0 run to put the Vaqueros back on top. The set stayed tight, and with the score tied at 23, Santos and Rodrigues came up with kills to end the set.
 
After dropping set two, the Vaqueros trailed 4-6 in the third set. That's when Cruz came up with back-to-back kills to spark a 9-1 run to put the Vaqueros up 13-7. The Texans responded with four-straight points before a Jandova kill and an error made the score 15-11. The Texans came back to tie the set at 18 and 19, but each time Jandova followed with a kill to give the Vaqueros the lead. After the second kill, Cruz followed with a pair of kills to put the Vaqueros up 22-19. The Texans scored the next three points to tie the set. Jandova answered with a kill. Then, after an error, a Santos kill ended the set.
 
Cruz came up with three early kills to help the Vaqueros jump out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth set. The Texans came back to tie the set at 7. The Vaqueros responded with an 8-1 run, capped by a Jandova kill, to go up 15-8. The Texans followed with a 5-1 run, but after a timeout, a Jandova kill, a Ramos ace and a Santos block pushed the set out of reach.
 
UTRGV is back in action on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Sam Houston at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at UTRGVTickets.com. 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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