TUCSON, Ariz. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team fell to the Arizona Wildcats 0-3 (24-26, 15-25, 16-25) in the opening round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) on Friday at the McKale Center.
 
Making their second postseason appearance and first since competing in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, this was the latest in the calendar year that the Vaqueros had ever competed by one day compared to the 2016 postseason appearance.
 
Junior Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros (17-11) with 12 kills and three digs. Freshman Perris Key recorded four kills and five digs.
 
Senior Veronika Jandova finishes her career ranked third in program history in hitting percentage (.279), career blocks per set (0.83), fourth in block assists (264), and seventh in total blocks (309). For the season, Jandova hit .293, the second-highest single season total in program history.
 
Cruz finishes this season averaging a program record 4.37 kills per set on 437 total kills, the sixth-highest total.
 
Freshman Luanna Emiliano finishes the season averaging 9.88 assists per set, the sixth-highest single-season total in program history, on 1,057 total assists, the seventh-highest total and second among freshmen. She also ranks third among freshmen in program history with 345 digs and tied for fifth in aces with 37. Freshman Edinburg North alumEvana Ramos finished second among freshmen with 404 digs.
 
Sophomore Luisa Silva Dos Santos finishes the season averaging 0.96 blocks per set, the eight-best total in program history, on 100 total blocks, which 10^th, including 85 block assists, which is eighth.
 
Jaelyn Hodge led the Wildcats (17-15) with 12 kills on .385 hitting. Puk Stubbe finished with 10 kills on .389 hitting.
 
In the opening the set, the score was tied at 6 when an error gave the Vaqueros the lead and then a pair of Ramos aces helped the Vaqueros score four in a row as part of a 9-3 run to go up 15-9 on a Cruz ace. The Vaqueros still led by six at 16-10 when the Wildcats won back-to-back serves as part of an 8-2 run to tie the set at 18. After a timeout, the Vaqueros scored three-straight points, going up 22-19 on a Key kill. The Vaqueros reached set point at 24-21 on a kill by sophomore Ioanna Charitonidi before the Wildcats scored five in a row to come back and win the set.
 
The Vaqueros jumped out to a 5-4 lead in the second set on a kill by freshman Ingridy Foltran. The set was still tied at nine on an error before the Wildcats went on an 8-2 run to take control of the set.
 
The Vaqueros were within 3-4 early in the third set before a 7-1 run put the Wildcats up 11-4. Three Cruz kills helped the Vaqueros go on a 5-1 run to pull within 9-12, but that's as close as they got.

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