LUBBOCK – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team extended its program record winning streak to 11-straight by beating the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles 3-1 (25-18, 27-25, 15-25, 25-16) at the Red Raider Classic on Friday at United Supermarkets Arena.
At 11-1, the Vaqueros extend their record for best start as an NCAA Division I program.
UTRGV looks to keep rolling at 5 p.m. against SMU.
UTRGV head coach
Todd Lowery now has 28 neutral site wins at UTRGV, breaking the previous program record of 27 held by
Dave Thorn (1998-06). The winningest head coach in program history, Lowery now holds 14 different coaching records.
Senior
Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros with 15 kills and 12 digs for her fourth double-double. Junior
Luisa Silva Dos Santos recorded 11 kills on .435 hitting with a career-high eight digs and four blocks. Sophomore
Perris Key posted a career-high nine kills and a season-high five blocks. Sophomore
Claudia Lupescu posted eight kills and nine digs. Sophomore
Margherita Giani finished with five kills. Sophomore
Luanna Emiliano dished out 43 assists with a season-high 19 digs for her eighth double-double. Junior
Regina Tijerina finished with 19 digs.
Trinity Freeman led the Golden Eagles (2-8) with 12 kills and eight digs.
Kaia Dunford recorded 10 kills and 11 digs.
Sakira LaCour posted eight kills and 10 blocks.
Kalena Vaivai dished out 34 assists with 10 digs.
Chloe Salcedo finished with 18 digs.
The Vaqueros jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set on a Key kill. The Eagles pulled within one four times, including 5-6 before a Lupescu kill sparked a 4-0 run to put the Vaqueros up 10-5. The Vaqueros and Golden Eagles traded points for much of the rest of the set. Then, with the score 18-15, the Vaqueros went on another 4-0 run, capped by a Cruz kill, to push the set out of reach.
The Golden Eagles won the first three serves of the second set before kills by Cruz and Key kicked off an 8-1 run to put the Vaqueros up 8-4. The Golden Eagles won six of the next nine serves to pull within 10-11. Two serves later, Giani and Key pushed back with kills to extend the Vaqueros' lead to 14-11. The Golden Eagles scored three of the next four points to pull within one again before a pair of Lupescu kills fueled an 8-3 run to put the Vaqueros up 23-17. The Golden Eagles responded with an 8-1 run to go up 25-24 before a Giani kill tied the set, a block by Key and Santos brought the Vaqueros to set point, and a Key kill ended the set.
After dropping the third set, the Vaqueros fell behind 3-6 in the fourth set before a pair of Santos kills helped the Vaqueros score six-straight points to go up 9-6. Three serves later, with the score 10-8, the Vaqueros went on an 8-0 run that included kills by Santos, Giani, Cruz and Emiliano to push the set out of reach.
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