LAFAYETTE, La. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball head coach
Todd Lowery became the winningest head coach in program history when the Vaqueros beat the North Dakota State Bison 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) to close out Louisiana's Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic on Saturday at Earl K. Long Gym.
The Vaqueros (6-1) are winners of six in a row, their longest winning streak since winning eight-straight from Oct. 18 through Nov. 17, 2018.
Now with 111 wins, Lowery passes
Dave Thorn (1998-2006) for the top spot. The win was also Lowery's 27
th neutral site victory, tying him with Thorn for the program record. Lowery is also tied with Thorn for first in home wins (49). Lowery is the program record holder in 11 other categories, including winning percentage (.531), home winning percentage (.653), road wins (35), road winning percentage (.407), neutral site winning percentage (.551), conference wins (52), conference winning percentage (.520), conference home wins (32), conference home winning percentage (.667), conference road wins (19), and conference road winning percentage (.380).
Lowery had guided the program to its only two NCAA Division I postseason appearances, including the 2016 NCAA Tournament and the 2021 NIVC, while leading his team to the 2018 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championship and 2016 WAC Tournament Championship.
"I'm super excited to break the record, but what really makes it special is to do it with this team that's so much fun to coach," Lowery said. "Breaking this record is really a tribute to all the student-athletes that we've had here and everyone that's buying into what we're doing."
Senior
Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros with 14 kills on .345 hitting and five digs. In her season debut, sophomore
Claudia Lupescu recorded 13 kills on .257 hitting, nine digs, three blocks and one ace. Junior
Luisa Silva Dos Santos posted nine kills on an error-free .529 hitting with five blocks, six digs and one ace. Sophomore
Luanna Emiliano dished out 37 assists, nine digs and three blocks.
Michelle Glover led the Bison (4-2) with 12 kills and three blocks.
The Vaqueros trailed 7-9 in the first set when three kills and a block by Santos fueled a 6-2 run to make the score 13-11. Then, with the set tied at 13, Lupescu came up with back-to-back kills to help the Vaqueros win three-straight serves to go up 16-13. The Bison came back to tie the set at 18 before Cruz recorded three-straight kills to restore the Vaqueros' advantage. The Bison tied the set once more, at 22, before two kills and a block by Lupescu ended the set.
The Bison jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second set before the Vaqueros won four-straight serves to take a 5-3 lead on a Cruz kill. The Vaqueros pushed their lead to 8-5 on an error before the Bison went on a 5-1 run to take the lead. The set stayed tight for the next few serves, but with the score tied at 16, Lupescu and Cruz came up with kills to help the Vaqueros score three-straight points. The Bison got as close as one twice, including 19-20, but Cruz pushed back with a kill as the Vaqueros won the next three serves to go up 23-19. Then, with the score 24-22, a Lupescu kill ended the set.
The Vaqueros opened the third set up 5-2 on a Lupescu kill before the Bison scored three in a row to tie it. The Vaqueros responded with a 5-0 run that included a kill and a block by sophomore
Margherita Giani to take a 10-5 lead. The Bison used a 5-2 run to pull within 10-12 before a Santos kill and back-to-back Cruz kills sparked a 6-1 run to push the set out of reach.
UTRGV is back in action on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, on
ESPN+.
Coach Lowery by the Numbers
Rank Wins Name Years
1. 111 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
2. 110 Dave Thorn 1998-06
Rank Winning % Name Years
1. .531 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
2. .394 Dave Thorn 1998-06
Rank Home Wins Name Years
T-1. 49 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
T-1. 49 Dave Thorn 1998-06
3. 26 Oscar Segovia 1992-97
Rank Home Winning % Name Years
1. .653 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
2. .590 Dave Thorn 1998-06
Rank Road Wins Name Years
1. 35 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
2. 34 Dave Thorn 1998-06
Rank Road Winning % Name Years
1. .407 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
2. .299 Oscar Segovia 1992-97
Rank Neutral Site Wins Name Years
T-1. 27 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
T-1. 27 Dave Thorn 1998-06
3. 21 Oscar Segovia 1992-97
Rank Neutral Site Winning % Name Years
1. .551 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
2. .457 Angela Hubbard 2007-10
Rank Conference Wins Name Years
1. 52 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
2. 10 Oscar Segovia 1992-97
Rank Conference Win % Name Years
1. .520 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
2. .348 Angela Hubbard 2007-10
Rank Conference Home Wins Name Years
1. 32 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
2. 7 Oscar Segovia 1992-97
Rank Conference Home Win % Name Years
1. .667 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
2. .400 Angela Hubbard 2007-10
Rank Conference Road Wins Name Years
1. 19 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
T-2. 5 Brian Yale 2011-14
T-2. 5 Angela Hubbard 2007-10
Rank Conference Road Win % Name Years
1. .380 Todd Lowery 2015-Present
2. .357 Angela Hubbard 2007-10
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