RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team won its third-straight match by sweeping the Texas Southern Tigers 3-0 (25-7, 25-18, 25-7) on Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
This was the first time the Vaqueros (5-3) have held an opponent to seven points in a set since Sept. 16, 2017, when they did so in the second set of a sweep of the Tigers (1-8).
 
Freshman Ada Bulgur led the Vaqueros with eight kills on .467 hitting with three aces, two assists and three blocks. Junior Ioanna Charitonidi posted a match-high nine kills on .474 hitting and 10 digs. Sophomore Luisa Silva Dos Santos recorded seven kills and four blocks. Freshman Luanna Emiliano dished out 27 assists. Freshman Edinburg North alum Evana Ramos finished with 14 digs.
 
Danielle Lilley led the Tigers with seven kills.
 
Bulgur opened the second set with kills on two of the first four serves as the Vaqueros took a 5-0 lead. The Vaqueros pushed their lead to 9-1 on a block by Bulgur and Santos. Back-to-back blocks by senior Veronika Jandova put the Vaqueros up 13-2. Then with the score 16-6, the Vaqueros went on a 9-1 run, fueled in-part by three Santos kills, to end the set.
 
The Tigers led 5-4 in the second set when a kill and two aces by Bulgur sparked an 8-0 run to put the Vaqueros up 12-5. After a timeout, the Tigers responded with an 11-2 run to take a 16-14 lead. The Vaqueros tied the set at 16 on a kill by freshman Perris Key and then went up 18-17 on a block by Bulgur and Santos. One serve later, with the score tied at 18, a Santos kill sparked a 5-0 run to push the set out of reach.
 
The Vaqueros jumped out to a 9-2 lead in set three. Then, after back-to-back kills by the Tigers, a Bulgur kill sparked a 6-0 run to put the Vaqueros up 15-4 en route to the sweep.
 
UTRGV concludes the UTRGV Tournament on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union. 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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