SAN ANTONIO – History was made Thursday at the McDermott Center as The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team defeated the Incarnate Word (UIW) Cardinals 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 26-24) to claim the volleyball program's first win in the Southland Conference (SLC).
UTRGV (5-7, 1-1 SLC) senior outside hitter
Ilana De Assis had a match-high 21 kills on .333 hitting and tabbed 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Sophomore outside hitter
Nadine Zech added 12 kills on .310 hitting and senior outside hitter
Claudia Lupescu had 10 kills and seven digs. Sophomore libero
Celianiz Cabranes tallied a match-high 23 digs to aid a defensive effort that held UIW to .127 hitting in the match. Sophomore setter
Isabella Costantini recorded 45 assists and a career-high tying three kills as she ran the offense efficiently, helping the Vaqueros hit .303 as a team.
Incarnate Word (7-6, 0-3 SLC) was led offensively by
Finley Evans' eight kills while
Calissa Allison tabbed nine digs and
Teyhlor Thomas had two blocks to pace the Cardinals defense.
Assis notched an impressive eight kills in the opening set to power UTRGV to a 25-22 win in the frame. Costantini mixed up her hitters well and tabbed a pair of kills of her own to go with two service aces that helped get the Vaqueros to set point. The Vaqueros were sharp defensively, recording three blocks in the first set to hold the Cardinals to a .063 hitting percentage. The teams swapped scoring runs, ties and lead changes throughout, but UTRGV was able to push through when crunch time came.
The second set saw both teams get on a roll in the first half, resulting in a 4-0 run for the Cardinals before UTRGV responded with five in a row to take an 11-9 lead. The set knotted up at 14-14, then the Vaqueros took control in the homestretch. Lupescu tabbed back-to-back kills and Zech ripped balls consistently, collecting six kills in the second set. The Vaqueros were sharp on the attack, hitting .412 in the set to close it on another 5-0 run. After holding UIW to .069 hitting and taking the frame 25-18, UTRGV led 2-0 in the match.
With both teams searching for their first conference wins, the third set was a battle. UIW showed good fight and led by as many as three a few times in the frame. Junior Sharyland Pioneer alum
Natalie Reyes served an ace on her birthday to even the third set at 12-12.
The Vaqueros showed great resilience to close out each set strong, particularly the third. The Cardinals got to set point up 24-23, then Lupescu ripped back-to-back kills to reach match point. An attack error by UIW sealed the victory.
UTRGV will be back in action Saturday at 1 p.m. at Houston Christian.
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