RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team completed a season sweep of the three-time defending Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Champion New Mexico State Aggies for the first time in program history by winning 3-2 (25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 25-14, 15-9) on Monday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in front of a crowd of 1,018.
This is the first time in program history that the Vaqueros (17-4, 6-0 WAC) have welcomed four crowds of over 1,000 fans in the same season.
With the win, the Vaqueros move back into the top five in the NCAA in victories alongside Towson (18-0), Stephen F. Austin (17-2), Valparaiso (17-2), and Western Kentucky (17-2).
The Vaqueros are off to the best 21-match start in NCAA Division I program history, three matches ahead of the 2018 and 2016 teams (14-7), and the best six-match conference start in program history, one match ahead of the 2018 and 2017 teams (5-1).
This the second-straight season in which the Vaqueros have won 17 matches, after going 17-11 in 2021. This is the ninth 17+ win season in NCAA Division I program history. The 17 wins ties for the sixth-highest single-season win total in NCAA Division I program history. The Vaqueros have eight matches remaining before the WAC Tournament.
The Vaqueros are now 7-0 at home for second time in program history, matching the 2017 team.
Graduate student
Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros with 20 kills on .326 hitting, 12 digs and three blocks for her eighth double-double. Sophomore
Luanna Emiliano dished out 43 assists with 17 digs, four kills and two blocks for her 14
thdouble-double. Junior
Luisa Silva Dos Santos recorded 11 kills and four blocks. Sophomore
Claudia Lupescu posted 10 kills. Sophomore
Margherita Giani recorded seven kills and five blocks. Junior
Regina Tijerina posted 19 digs.
Molly Johnson led the Aggies (10-7, 3-3 WAC) with 15 kills, 16 digs and five blocks.
The Aggies jumped out to a 4-1 lead in set one. The Vaqueros responded with a 10-3 run, capped by back-to-back Santos kills, to go up 11-7. The Aggies pulled to within one at 10-11 and 12-13 before a Cruz kill sparked a 7-1 run to push the set out of reach.
After dropping the next two sets, the Vaqueros came out on fire in set four. With the score tied at 2, a Giani kill kicked off a 9-2 run to make the score 11-4. The Aggies won the next two serves before back-to-back Cruz kills sparked a 6-0 run that allowed the Vaqueros to pull away.
The Aggies ran out to leads of 4-1 and 5-2 in set five. That's when a Giani kill started a 5-0 run to put the Vaqueros up 7-5. Then, with the Vaqueros' lead cut to 10-9, a Cruz kill, an Emiliano ace, a kill by junior
Ioanna Charitonidi, another Cruz kill and another Emiliano ace ended the match.
UTRGV is back in action on Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. at Grand Canyon. Fans can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally on
WAC International.
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