RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team dropped a heartbreaker, 3-2 (18-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-16, 17-15), to the Grand Canyon (GCU) Lopes Thursday in a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) match at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
UTRGV (11-9, 5-2 WAC) had four student-athletes reach double-digit kills, led by a dynamic performance from junior right side
Perris Key, who had a career high 20 kills to go with nine digs and four blocks. Junior outside hitter
Claudia Lupescu had 15 kills and five digs, while junior outside hitter
Ilana De Assis added 12 kills and six digs. Junior middle blocker
Margherita Giani tabbed 11 kills on .562 hitting with three blocks. Junior setter
Luanna Emiliano had her 11
th double-double with 50 assists and a career high 27 digs to go with two aces, two kills and two blocks. Junior libero
Kiaraliz Perez recorded 16 kills and eight assists.
GCU (13-5, 6-1 WAC) was led by
Tatum Parrott's 26 kills on .308 hitting.
Stella Gkiourda added 13 kills and 10 digs.
Klaire Mitchell dished out 50 assists and had 12 digs and two aces.
Alissa Uhlenhop anchored a tough GCU block with eight blocks.
The Vaqueros got off to a great start in the first set, opening on a 5-0 run behind Emiliano's 100
th career ace and a block from senior middle blocker
Luisa Silva Dos Santos and Lupescu. They led by as many as six before the Lopes got hot and closed the deficit, taking their first lead at 14-13 off a block in the middle.
Key dropped a smart off-speed tip behind the aggressive GCU block to end the run and knot the opening frame at 14-14. Key and Giani sparked a big 4-0 run to put the Vaqueros in control late, and they didn't let up. Assis slammed down a loud kill to open the lead to four points, then a trio of attack errors from the usually disciplined GCU hitters secured the set for UTRGV, 25-18.
The second set was a battle from the first serve, filled with long rallies featuring scrappy defense from UTRGV. Perez and Key were active and Santos showed great awareness on the net to keep balls alive as Grand Canyon's block got hands on a lot of swings. Key scored three of UTRGV's first four points, setting the tone early as she was a go-to pin throughout the frame.
UTRGV's middles were on fire as both Santos and Giani put down sharp kills, helping the Vaqueros swap scores with the Lopes and maintain a slim lead. UTRGV used a 3-0 run, backed by two kills from Santos and an ace from Emiliano, to extend the lead to 20-15. Out of a timeout, GCU went on a 3-0 run to close the gap to 22-21, forcing the Vaqueros to have a chat. A tip kill from Emiliano and a booming swing from Lupescu earned set point, and a GCU service error put UTRGV up 2-0 with a 25-23 win in the second set.
The Lopes were in control in the third to take the frame 25-17 and close the gap in the match to 2-1. UTRGV struggled in serve-receive and with accurate passing, forcing them to scramble and play out of system. Grand Canyon took advantage, getting the block on a roll and putting down hard kills. Freshman Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant came off the bench to snap down a quick kill to fight off a set point, but GCU put it away.
It was much of the same to start the fourth set, with UTRGV struggling to stay in system and forcing things defensively to help Grand Canyon open up a 17-10 lead. The Vaqueros showed good fight even as the Lopes took control, getting a good block from Giani and Key and some nice kills from Assis. But a missed serve knotted the match at 2-2 as GCU took the fourth, 25-16.
The fifth set was wild and extremely competitive. Grand Canyon opened up an 8-4 lead at the switch as the Lopes continued to keep the Vaqueros scrambling. UTRGV settled in and showed great resilience, using a 3-0 run with a pair of loud kills from Lupescu to get within 11-8. Another kill followed by an ace from Lupescu closed the gap to 13-10, but a GCU block got the Lopes to match point.
UTRGV then scored five points in a row with kills from Assis and Key and help from GCU attack errors, taking the 15-14 lead. But the Lopes finished the match on a 3-0 run backed by a kill and a block by Parrott to secure the comeback win, 17-15.
The Vaqueros will be back at the UTRGV Fieldhouse for a 2 p.m. match Saturday against California Baptist. Fans can purchase tickets at GoUTRGV.com/Tickets or by contacting the UTRGV Ticket Sales and Operations team of
Ryela Rodriguez (956-665-3747) or
Eddie Galvan (956-665-3415) over the phone or through email at
tickets@utrgv.edu.
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