HAMMOND, La. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team fell to the Southeastern Lions 1-3 (25-19, 18-25, 20-25, 19-25) on Saturday at the University Center.
Senior
Ilana De Assis led the Vaqueros (14-10, 10-4 SLC) with 16 kills, a career-high 21 digs, and two blocks for her ninth double-double. Sophomore
Nadine Zech recorded 13 kills and eight digs. Senior
Claudia Lupescu posted nine kills and 14 digs. Sophomore
Isabella Costantini dished out 39 assists with 14 digs, three blocks and three kills for 10
thdouble-double. Sophomore
Celianiz Cabranes finished with 28 digs and four assists.
Kyra McKelvey led the Lions (22-4, 14-0 SLC) with 16 kills on .438 hitting and four blocks.
Cicily Hidalgo recorded 14 kills, 15 digs, and five blocks.
Hannah Brewer finished with 10 kills, 15 digs, and two blocks.
Gracie Duplecheinrecorded 24 assists and nine digs while
Ashley Richardson posted 23 assists and 11 digs.
The Vaqueros jumped out to a 5-3 lead in set one on a Zech kill. The Lions won the next three serves to take the lead but committed four-straight errors to help the Vaqueros regain the lead at 9-6. Then, with the score 10-8, Lupescu and Assis recorded two kills each to power a 7-2 run to take a 17-10 lead. The Vaqueros pushed their lead to 21-13 on a Zech kill. The Lions followed with a 4-1 run to pull within five, but the Vaqueros and Lions traded points from there with the set ending on an Assis kill.
Zech came up with two early kills to help the Vaqueros take a 6-2 lead in set two. The Lions responded by scoring the next four points as part of a 6-1 run to go up 9-7. The Vaqueros came back to tie the set at 9 on an error, 10 on a Costantini kill, 11 on an error, and 12 on a Zech kill, but the Lions answered with a 5-1 run to take the lead for good.
Zech opened the third set with a kill before the Lions won four-straight serves to take the lead. The Lions pushed their lead to 16-10 before a kill and an ace by Assis sandwiched a Lupescu kill to bring the Vaqueros within 13-16. The Lions followed by scoring three-straight points and led by at least four for the rest of the set.
The Lions scored the first four points of set four. The Lions maintained a lead of between two and four for much of the set. The Vaqueros trailed 14-18 when Zech and Assis came up with kills and then a block Assis, sophomore Brownsville Veterans alum
Elise Fourt, and Lupescu made the score 17-18, but the Lions scored the next two points as part of a 7-2 run to end the match.
The Vaqueros return home for their final two matches before the conference tournament starting with a match against Incarnate Word on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
It's 956 Night. Fans are encouraged to come to a block party starting at 5:30 p.m. in Schlotzsky's Vaquero Village featuring food, music, contests and prizes to celebrate the Rio Grande Valley.
It's also senior night. Fans are asked to be in their seats early for a special pre-match presentation honoring the senior class.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at
UTRGVTickets.com. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID. All fans need to follow the clear bag policy, details of which can be found at
GoUTRGV.com/ClearBag. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Fans can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
Southland International.
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