RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team fell to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders 1-3 (22-25, 19-25, 25-17, 23-25) as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, to close out the UTRGV Tournament on Sunday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
The Vaqueros (5-4) now trail the Islanders (3-5) 6-3 in the showdown standings.
 
Junior Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros with 19 kills on .390 hitting and seven digs. Senior Veronika Jandova recorded 14 kills on .391 hitting and two blocks. Freshman Luanna Emiliano dished out 43 assists with 18 digs and five kills for her seventh double-double.
 
Rachel Young led the Islanders with 14 kills and five blocks. Kyndall Payne recorded 10 kills and three blocks. Kylie Filipiak also finished with 10 kills.
 
Cruz and Jandova each recorded a pair of early kills as the Vaqueros jumped out a 7-3 lead in the first set. The Islanders won the next three serves and then took their first lead at 11-10 on a block. The Islanders pushed their lead to 18-15 before a Cruz kill sparked a 6-1 run to go up 21-19. Then, with the score 22-20, the Islanders went on a 5-0 run to end the set.
 
The Islanders jumped out to a 5-2 lead in set two. The Islanders still led by three at 8-5 when a Cruz kill sparked a 4-0 run to give the Vaqueros the lead. Then, with score tied at 10, Cruz recorded kills on three of the next four serves to put the Vaqueros up 13-11. The Islanders scored the next five points as part of a 9-2 run to regain the advantage. The Vaqueros scored the next three points, pulling to within 18-20 on a Jandova kill, but that's as close as they got.
 
The third set was tight early. The Vaqueros led 9-8 when they scored four-straight points, including a pair of aces by sophomore Luisa Silva Dos Santos, as part of a 6-1 run to take a 15-10 lead. Then, with the score 17-13, an Emiliano kill sparked a 4-1 run to push the set out of reach.
 
The Vaqueros led 3-1 to start the fourth set on a block by Santos and junior Yasmim Da Silva. The Islanders scored the next four points to take the lead, but with the score 5-7, a Jandova kill and an error allowed the Vaqueros to tie it. Then, with the score 8-9, a Jandova kill sparked an 8-2 run to put the Vaqueros up 16-11. The Islanders answered by winning the next three serves as part of an 11-4 run to push the set out of reach.
 
UTRGV opens East Carolina's Pirate Invitational on Friday at 10 a.m. against Appalachian State.
 
The next event of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, is on Oct. 16 when the cross country teams compete at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational.

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