RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team won its regional by sweeping the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-16) in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) on Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
UTRGV (27-6) advances to the NIVC Quarterfinals against the winner of today's match between Wake Forest and Davidson. The match will be played between Dec. 6 and 8 with the exact date, time and location to be determined once the matchup is set.
UTRGV is now one of only 14 27-win teams in the NCAA, along with San Diego (29-1), Towson (29-2), Houston (29-3), Marquette (29-3), South Dakota (29-4), Western Kentucky (29-4), Central Florida (28-1), Pittsburgh (28-3), Wright State (28-4), Louisville (27-2), Rice (27-4), Creighton (27-5), and Northern Iowa (27-7).
Graduate student
Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros with 12 kills on .333 hitting, eight digs, a career-high tying seven blocks, one ace and two assists. Sophomore
Perris Key recorded 10 kills on .444 hitting, nine digs, two blocks and one ace. Junior
Luisa Silva Dos Santos posted seven kills on .400 hitting with three blocks. Sophomore
Claudia Lupescu posted seven kills, seven digs and a career-high tying two aces. Sophomore
Margherita Giani recorded six kills with five blocks. Sophomore
Luanna Emiliano dished out 35 assists with seven digs, two aces, three kills and one block. Junior
Regina Tijerina finished with nine digs, five assists and one ace.
Masa Scheierman led the Jackrabbits (18-15) with 12 kills and six digs.
Crystal Burk recorded 11 kills and seven digs.
A Giani kill and a pair of Cruz blocks helped the Vaqueros jump out to a 3-1 lead in the first set. The Vaqueros went up 6-3 on a Santos kill before the Jackrabbits won three of the next four serves to pull within 6-7. Santos responded with a kill as the Vaqueros went on a 7-2 run to open up a 14-8 lead. The Jackrabbits got as close as 16-20 before a 4-1 run, capped by a Key kill, brought the Vaqueros to set point.
Two kills and an ace by Key helped the Vaqueros jump out to a 7-3 lead in the second set. The Jackrabbits scored the next four points as part of a 16-9 run to take a 19-16 lead. That's when Cruz put the Vaqueros on her shoulders, coming up with four kills and two blocks as the Vaqueros closed the set on a 9-1 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set was tied at 2 when the Vaqueros went on a 5-0 run capped by a pair of blocks by Giani and Key to take the lead. Two serves later, a pair of Key kills, kills by Lupescu and Santos and a Tijerina ace allowed the Vaqueros to build a 12-4 lead. The Jackrabbits pulled within 9-14 before Cruz bookended a 4-0 run with kills to extend the lead 18-9 and push the match out of reach.
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