GREENVILLE, N.C. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team swept the Appalachian State Mountaineers 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-22) to open East Carolina's Pirate Invitational on Friday at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
 
The Vaqueros (6-4) face host East Carolina at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
Junior Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros with 15 kills on .367 hitting, six digs and two aces. Freshman Luanna Emiliano dished out 27 assists with nine digs, three kills and two blocks. Sophomore Luisa Silva Dos Santos recorded eight kills on .462 hitting with three blocks. Sophomore Ioanna Charitonidi recorded six kills with 10 digs and two aces. Freshman Perris Key finished with five kills on .417 hitting and seven digs.
 
McCall Denny led the Mountaineers (3-5) with 10 kills and eight digs.
 
The Mountaineers took the early lead in set one, going up 4-1. A Key killed sparked a 7-2 run to give the Vaqueros an 8-6 lead. Then, with the score tied at 10, the Vaqueros went on a 9-0 run, capped by a Cruz kill, to run away with the set.
 
The Vaqueros trailed 1-2 to start the second set when Cruz kills bookended a 9-3 run to put the Vaqueros up 10-5. The Mountaineers got as close as 11-12, but the Vaqueros didn't let the Mountaineers win back-to-back serves for the rest of the set, going on a 13-6 run that was capped by a Cruz ace to end the set.
 
A pair of Key kills helped the Vaqueros jump out to a 5-2 lead in the third set. The Mountaineers responded by scoring the next four points to take the lead. Two serves later, back-to-back Charitonidi kills and a block by senior Veronika Jandova gave the Vaqueros a 9-7 lead. The Mountaineers answered with a 5-2 run to regain the lead and extended their lead to two twice, including a 18-16. The Vaqueros responded with a 6-2 run, capped by back-to-back Santos kills, to go up 22-20. Two serves later, with the score tied, Cruz came up with a kill, Charitonidi recorded a block, and then Key and Santos combined on a block to end the match.

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