SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team dropped its non-conference finale to the San Jose State (SJSU) Spartans, 3-2 (25-18, 17-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-12) Saturday to conclude the USF Challenge at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
UTRGV (6-7) was led offensively by junior outside hitter
Claudia Lupescu, who had 13 kills, six digs, four aces and three blocks. Junior outside hitter
Perris Key added 12 kills, 11 digs and three blocks in her fifth double-double of the season. Junior outside hitter
Ilana De Assis tallied 11 kills and nine digs. Freshman Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant notched career highs with eight kills on .278 hitting and five blocks. Junior setter
Luanna Emiliano recorded her seventh double-double with 42 assists, 11 digs and two blocks, while junior libero
Kiaraliz Perez tallied 17 digs and three assists.
SJSU (9-4) was led offensively by Blaire Fleming's 21 kills, while Letizia Cammillucci and Brooke Bryant added 12 and 10, respectively. Teya Nguyen and Brooke Slusser split the setting duties, while Alessia Buffagni had 20 digs.
The Spartans used a hot start to take control of the first set, which they won 25-18. An early 5-0 run gave San Jose State a 10-5 lead. The Vaqueros responded with a 4-0 run backed by kills from Key and Assis and a service ace from Lupescu, cutting the deficit to 16-14. Nayeli Ti'a recorded back-to-back kills for the Spartans late in the set to anchor a 4-0 run to secure the frame for SJSU.
UTRGV bounced back impressively in the second set, controlling it from start to finish. The Vaqueros opened the set 5-0 behind strong play from Lupescu, Key and Bryant. UTRGV extended its lead to 15-9 after senior middle blocker
Luisa Silva Dos Santos, Lupescu and Bryant strung together kills and forced an attack error from the Spartans with good pressure on the net, leading to a timeout. But the break didn't slow the Vaqueros down, and a pair of aces from Lupescu and Perez helped them roll to a 20-12 advantage.
Cammillucci recorded three straight kills for the Spartans to create a little rhythm and force a UTRGV timeout. The Vaqueros rebounded quickly as Santos and Emiliano teamed up for the fourth UTRGV block of the frame and Assis added an ace to help them take the set, 25-17, and tie the match at 1-1.
Lupescu continued to stand out to start the third frame, recording a solo block and a kill to open the set. A string of Spartans attack errors due to the solid pressure on the net applied by the Vaqueros led to a 12-8 lead and a timeout called by the Spartans. SJSU came out of the break scoring two quick points, but UTRGV came right back with a kill from Key and a third ace from Lupescu to go up 14-10.
San Jose State took its first lead of the third set at 15-14 after a 5-0 run aided by UTRGV errors. A kill from Bryant ended the run, then an ace from Perez put the Vaqueros back on top. From there, the Vaqueros didn't look back. The teams swapped scores until UTRGV went on a 3-0 run off kills from Lupescu and Perez and the eighth ace of the match, this one from Emiliano, to lead 23-19. Bryant and Assis recorded a big block to secure the set, 25-20.
After the Spartans went up 2-0 in the fourth set, UTRGV used kills and blocks from Key and Bryant to go on a 6-0 run. The electric duo, plus Lupescu's fourth ace, led to another run and a 10-3 lead for UTRGV.
San Jose State battled back to record 10 unanswered points, going up 18-12 and forcing UTRGV to use two timeouts as errors from the Vaqueros and strong play from Mari Lawton gave the Spartans an edge. Assis ended the run with a kill, then served up an ace, to cut the deficit to 18-14.
The teams swapped scores through the back third of the set, then kills from Bryant and Assis forced a Spartans timeout with a 23-19 lead. Key notched a kill to fight off one set point, but SJSU's Bryant Brooke secured the 25-20 set win with a kill to force a decisive fifth set.
The Spartans took a 5-1 lead to start the fifth set, then kills from Key and Assis cut the deficit to 5-4. UTRGV tied the frame at 9-9 off kills from Assis and Lupescu, but the Spartans were the first to 10.
Lupescu stepped up massively late in the set, slamming down three kills in a row to give UTRGV a 12-11 lead. But SJSU went on a 3-0 run to get to match point, then an attack error clinched the victory for the Spartans, 15-12.
The Vaqueros will open Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play Thursday at UT Arlington.
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