SEATTLE – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team beat the Seattle U Redhawks 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20) on Tuesday at the Redhawk Center to earn a split of the two-match series.
 
Sophomore Victoire Nama led the Vaqueros (2-10, 2-8 WAC) with a career-high 16 kills on .500 hitting, a career-high tying 11 digs and a season-high three aces for her second double-double. Junior Yasmim Da Silva posted a career-high 14 kills on .286 hitting with two aces and six digs. Freshman Ada Bulgur recorded nine kills with three aces and four blocks. Senior Veronika Jandova posted nine kills on .350 hitting with three blocks. Senior Debora Nazario dished out a season-high 44 assists.
 
Julia Queiroz led the Redhawks (2-8, 2-8 WAC) with 13 kills on .500 hitting. Eve Kerschenbaum recorded 11 kills. Ezgi Ozkan dished out 39 assists with nine digs.
 
The Redhawks jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and still led by five at 7-2. Four Jandova kills fueled a 13-2 run as the Vaqueros turned the set around and took a 15-9 lead. The Redhawks won four of the next five serves to pull within 13-16 before Nama kills bookended a 9-2 run to give the Vaqueros the set.
 
After dropping the second set, the Vaqueros ran out to a 5-1 lead in set three. Then, with the score 5-3, the Vaqueros went on a 6-1 run, capped by a Bulgur ace, to go up 11-4. The Redhawks pulled to within 9-14 before the Vaqueros won four-straight serves, capped by a Nama ace, to take an 18-9 lead. The Redhawks scored the next six points to climb to within 15-18. After an error gave the Vaqueros the serve back, junior Sarah Cruz served up back-to-back aces to make the score 21-15. The Redhawks won the next three serves to the make the score 18-21. The Vaqueros went back up by five at 23-18 on a Jandova kill. The Redhawks scored three-straight points again, but the Vaqueros reached set point on a service error and then won the set on an attack error.
 
Down 3-4 early in set four, the Vaqueros scored three-straight points to take a 6-4 lead on a Nama kill. One serve later, Da Silva and Jandova came up with kills to put the Vaqueros up 8-5. The Vaqueros extended their lead to 11-6 on a Nama kill. The Vaqueros pushed their lead to 15-9 on a block by Bulgur and Jandova. The Redhawks pulled to within 15-18 before a Nama kill sparked a 4-0 run. Then, with the Vaqueros up 23-16 on a Bulgur kill, the Redhawks scored four-straight points
 
UTRGV returns on Monday at 6 p.m. and Tuesday at 12 p.m. against Utah Valley at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. UTRGV Athletics is capping capacity at the UTRGV Fieldhouse at 231 fans. Single-match tickets can be purchased online at UTRGVTickets.com. Tickets for Monday's game must be purchased by 12 p.m. Monday while tickets for Tuesday's game must be purchased by Monday at 5. Doors open one hour prior to each match. For more information about match day, visit GoUTRGV.com/game-day.
 
Fans can also watch for free online at WACDigitalNetwork.com.

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