LAFAYETTE, La. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team opened the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic with a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-19) victory over the UTSA Roadrunners on Friday at Earl K. Long Gym.
UTRGV (4-1) faces host Louisiana (3-1), which beat North Dakota State to start the tournament, at 7 p.m. on
ESPN+.
The win was the 109
th for head coach
Todd Lowery at UTRGV, leaving him one win from tying
Dave Thorn (1998-2006) as the winningest head coach in program history.
Senior
Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros with 21 kills on .341 hitting and two aces. Sophomore
Luanna Emiliano posted her fifth-straight double-double with 33 assists, 10 digs and two blocks. Sophomore
Margherita Giani recorded nine kills and three blocks. Junior
Regina Tijerina posted a match-high 15 digs and four assists.
Cansu Gunaydin led the Roadrunners (1-3) with six kills and eight digs.
Alicia Coppedge finished with six kills and four blocks.
A block and a kill by junior
Luisa Silva Dos Santos helped the Vaqueros jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first set. The Roadrunners scored the next three points to tie the set. The Vaqueros restored their three-point advantage at 10-7 on a block by Emiliano and Giani before a 6-0 Roadrunners run gave them a 13-10 lead. Cruz answered with five kills as part of a 10-3 run to put the Vaqueros up 20-16. The Roadrunners pulled as close as 21-22, but Cruz responded with back-to-back kills to put the set on ice.
The Vaqueros trailed 4-5 in the second set when a Giani kill sparked a 6-1 run to give the Vaqueros a 10-6 edge. The Vaqueros still led by four at 13-9 when the Roadrunners won five-straight serves to take the lead. Two serves later, four Cruz kills helped the Vaqueros win six-straight serves to go up 20-15 and run away with the set.
The Vaqueros jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the third set on a Santos ace. Then, with the score tied at 7, the Vaqueros scored five-straight points to take the lead. The Roadrunners got as close as 11-12 when four Cruz kills powered a 6-1 run to put the Vaqueros up 18-12 and put the set out of reach.
Support UTRGV Volleyball |
Become a Fan on Facebook |
Follow us on Twitter |
Follow us on Instagram |
Follow us on YouTube
