STEPHENVILLE – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team moved to 2-0 in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-18) victory over the Tarleton Texans on Saturday at Wisdom Gym.
Senior
Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros (13-4, 2-0 WAC) with 19 kills on .500 hitting, 10 digs and three blocks for her fifth double-double. Junior
Luisa Silva Dos Santos posted a career-high tying 17 kills on .394 hitting with three blocks. Sophomore
Perris Key recorded a career-high 11 kills on .500 hitting with four digs and five blocks. Sophomore
Margherita Giani recorded six kills and a career-high tying eight blocks. Sophomore
Ingridy Foltran posted five kills and four digs. Sophomore
Luanna Emiliano dished out 50 assists with six digs.
Megan Haynes led the Texans (8-8, 0-2 WAC) with 16 kills.
Joselyn Roberson recorded 12 kills.
Emma Burke finished with 10 kills.
The Texans jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the opening set. A kill and a block by Santos brought the Vaqueros to within four, but the Texans extended their lead to seven at 19-12. After a timeout, the Vaqueros went on a 6-2 run, capped by a Giani kill, to pull within 18-21. The Texans won the next three serves before the Vaqueros answered with a 3-0 run to pull within 21-24, but that's as close as they got.
The Texans scored the first point of the second set before a Key kill sparked a 7-2 run to put the Vaqueros up 7-3. The Texans won three of the next four serves to pull within 6-8 before a Santos kill sparked a 4-0 run to put the Vaqueros up 12-6. Then, up 20-16, a pair of Key kills heled the Vaqueros go on a 4-1 run to reach set point. Two serves later, another Key kill ended the set.
The Texans led 3-1 to start the third set before a 6-1 run, capped by a Foltran kill, put the Vaqueros up 7-4. After the Texans scored three-straight points, the Vaqueros went on a 3-0 run, capped by a Santos kill, to go up 10-7. Then, with the score 13-10, the Texans went on a 5-1 run to go up 15-14. A Giani block tied the set as the Vaqueros went on an 8-1 run to go up 22-16 and push the set out of reach.
Down 3-4 early in the fourth set, kills by Foltran, Santos and Emiliano helped the Vaqueros go on a 6-0 run to take a 9-4 lead. The Texans won four of the next five serves to pull within two, but the Vaqueros responded with a 6-2 run to go up 16-10 on a block by Giani and Key. The Texans followed with a 5-0 run to climb to within one before kills by Key and Emiliano helped put the Vaqueros up 19-15. The Texans got as close as 17-20 before the Vaqueros went on a 4-0 run to reach match point. One serve later, a Cruz kill ended the match.
UTRGV is back in action for the WAC home opener on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against Utah Tech at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for a special pre-match ceremony during which a banner will be unveiled to commemorate the 2021 team's postseason appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). 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 5:30 p.m.
Fans unable to attend either match in person can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally on
WAC International.
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