RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team endured its first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and home losses of the season, falling to the Stephen F. Austin 'Jacks 1-3 (20-25, 25-15, 23-25, 18-25) on Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
The Vaqueros (19-5, 8-1 WAC) had been on 11-match WAC and home winning streak and are now 7-1 at home.
The Vaqueros played in front of 923 energetic fans, giving UTRGV a season attendance of 7,448 through eight home matches, the fourth-largest single-season total in program history.
Graduate student
Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros with 22 kills with 11 digs, three aces and one block.
Sophomore
Luanna Emiliano dished out 38 assists with 15 digs for her 17
th double-double. Emiliano increased her career assists total to 1,996, passing
Debora Nazario (1,969, 2017-20) and
Karen Lyons (1,992, 2003-06) for fifth place in program history.
Ielan Bradley led the 'Jacks (20-3, 8-2 WAC) with 16 kills on .353 hitting.
Camryn Hill posted 11 kills and 18 digs.
Payton Cerny finished with 11 kills and four blocks.
After dropping the first set, the Vaqueros jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set on a Cruz ace. The 'Jacks came back to tie the set at 7, 8 and 10 before the Vaqueros went on a 5-0 run, capped by back-to-back kills by sophomore
Claudia Lupescu to make the score 15-10. The 'Jacks won the next two serves to pull within three before back-to-back kills by sophomore
Perris Key launched a 10-3 run to end the set.
The Vaqueros trailed by as much as six in the third set, going down 13-19 before two kills and a block by junior
Luisa Silva Dos Santos helped the Vaqueros going on a 10-4 run to pull even at 23. The 'Jacks won the next two serves on errors to take the set.
In the fourth set, the Vaqueros jumped out to a 4-0 lead. The 'Jacks scored the next four points and the set stayed tight most of the way, with the Vaqueros leading late at 18-16 on a Santos kill. The 'Jacks, however, scored the final eight points of the match.
UTRGV is back in action on Saturday at 2 p.m. against UT Arlington at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at
UTRGVTickets.com. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID. All fans need to follow the clear bag policy, details of which can be found at
GoUTRGV.com/ClearBag. Doors open at 1 p.m.
Fans unable to attend either match in person can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally on
WAC International.
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