BEAUMONT – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team swept the Lamar Cardinals 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-7) on Saturday at McDonald Gym.
With the win, UTRGV clinches a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament.
Senior
Ilana De Assis led the Vaqueros (13-9, 9-3 SLC) with 17 kills on .536 hitting, six digs and one ace. Sophomore
Nadine Zech recorded nine kills on .467 hitting with five digs and two blocks. Senior
Claudia Lupescu posted eight kills on .350 hitting with 14 digs. Sophomore
Isabella Costantini dished out 39 assists with 10 digs, three aces and one block for her eighth double-double. Sophomore
Celianiz Cabranes finished with 12 digs, six assists and one ace.
Taisha Rhone and
Lyric Jordan led the Cardinals (12-12, 4-9 SLC) with six kills each.
The Vaqueros led 5-3 in the first set when a pair of Zech kills powered a 4-1 run to put the Vaqueros up 9-4. Then, with the score 11-7, Lupescu and Zech came up with back-to-back kills to help the Vaqueros score three in a row to go up seven. Up 15-9, the Vaqueros used a 6-2 run, capped by a kill by sophomore Brownsville Veterans alum
Elise Fourt, to take a 21-11 lead and push the set out of reach.
The Cardinals led 10-9 in set two before a pair of Lupescu kills sandwiched a 4-0 run to give the Vaqueros the lead. Then, with the score 13-12, The Vaqueros scored four of the next five points as part of a 12-3 run to end the set. During the run, Zech had three kills while Assis added two kills and an ace.
The Vaqueros rode that momentum into a 9-0 lead to start set three. During that run, Costantini served up three aces and Assis recorded three kills. The Vaqueros pushed their lead to 11-1 and 13-2 on Assis kills, 16-3 on three-straight kills by senior
Perris Key, and 22-4 on an attack error.
The Vaqueros continue this four-match road swing on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at New Orleans. Fans can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
Southland International.
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