RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team fell to the Utah Valley University Wolverines 0-3 (15-25, 26-28, 19-25) in the home finale on Tuesday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
Sophomore Victoire Nama led the Vaqueros (2-12, 2-10 WAC) with 15 kills and 10 digs for her third double-double. Senior Veronika Jandova recorded seven kills. Junior Pamela Moreira finished with a season-high six kills on .294 hitting and a season-high 13 digs. Senior Debora Nazario posted her second double-double with 33 assists and 10 digs. 
 
Kristen Bell led the Wolverines (11-4, 11-3 WAC) with 14 kills. Kazna Tarawhiti Tanuvasa recorded 12 kills on .348 hitting. Seren Jardin posted 27 digs.
 
The Wolverines jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first set. A pair of Jandova kills helped the Vaqueros win four of the next five serves to tie the set at 6. The Wolverines answered with a 5-0 run to go up 11-6. A pair of Nama kills helped the Vaqueros pull within 10-13, but the Wolverines scored seven-straight points to push the set out of reach.
 
The Wolverines led 6-3 early in the second set. Nama bookended a 6-1 run with kills to put the Vaqueros up 9-7. Another Nama kill made the score 11-9. The Wolverines won the next five serves to regain the lead. The Wolverines led 21-16 when a Nama kill sparked a 7-2 run to tie the set at 23. The Vaqueros defended on set point twice before an error put the Vaqueros up 26-25. The Wolverines, however, won the final three serves.
 
The third set was tied at 2 on a Nama kill before the Wolverines scored five-straight points to take a 7-2 lead. The Vaqueros won three of the next four serves to pull to within 5-8, but the Wolverines followed with a 10-4 run to push their advantage to 18-9. The Vaqueros responded with a 5-0 run to pull to within 14-18 on a block by freshman Ada Bulgur and junior Sarah Cruz. The Vaqueros were again within four at 19-23 on a Nama kill, but that's as close as they got.
 
UTRGV closes out the regular season on Monday and Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Tarleton. Fans can watch for free online at WACDigitalNetwork.com.

Support UTRGV Volleyball | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube