GREENVILLE, S.C. – Sophomore outside hitter
Nadine Zech powered The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team to a 3-1 (28-26, 20-25, 25-23, 25-22) victory Friday over the Furman Paladins in their second match of the Furman Invitational at Alley Gym.
Zech notched a double-double with a career-high 20 kills and a career-high 16 digs. She was on fire throughout the match, notching a .341 hitting percentage and collecting two aces and two blocks. Her dominant effort led UTRGV (2-0) against a resilient Furman (0-2) squad.
Four Vaqueros had double-doubles in the match. Senior outside hitter
Ilana De Assis tallied 15 kills, a career-high 12 digs and a career-high tying four aces. Senior outside hitter
Claudia Lupescu collected 11 kills and a career-high 16 digs. Sophomore setter
Isabella Costantini had a career-high 55 assists and 10 digs to go with two aces and two blocks. Sophomore middle blocker and Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant matched her career best with eight kills on .500 hitting and had four blocks.
Furman was the first to pull away in the opening set, taking a 12-9 lead as the Vaqueros were out of system on the early points. After a change at setter, UTRGV started to get on a roll and went on a 4-0 scoring run to take the 18-17 lead. Bryant and Zech applied good pressure on the net to force some Furman errors.
Zech was effective hitting from the right side down the back stretch of the first set, finishing the frame with four kills. Lupescu tabbed back-to-back kills late, but the Paladins responded well and tied things up at 22-22. The battle rolled on as Furman fought off two UTRGV set points, then the Vaqueros stopped the home team and put the set away with kills from Assis and Bryant to win a tight first, 28-26.
The second set followed the theme of the first, with teams swapping small scoring runs and playing back-and-forth rallies. Assis came up. Big with her powerful arm to put UTRGV on top 10-7, but the scrappy Paladins came back to tie things up at 12-12. After solid play from Bryant in the middle and a block from senior right side
Perris Key and Costantini, the Vaqueros found themselves leading 19-18. Furman showed its fight to keep the match within reach and used late scoring runs to take the second set, 25-20.
The intensity of the match found a new level in an extremely competitive third frame. Furman took control early, but Zech got on a roll and was ripping shots from the outside to spark UTRGV. The sophomore from Italy tabbed seven kills in the third set, and after an ace by Assis, the Vaqueros jumped on top and maintained the advantage despite Furman's best efforts to mount another comeback.
Both teams treated spectators to excellent court coverage, getting under hard hits and playing relentless defense. After a handful of long rallies, Key threw down a booming kill from the middle and UTRGV went on to win the frame, 25-23, on an ace from Assis.
It was UTRGV's turn to spoil a set late in the fourth. Furman was on top from the first serve and led by as many as four points until the Vaqueros used a 3-0 run to knot things up at 16-16 following an ace from sophomore libero
Celianiz Cabranes. The teams swapped scores and great plays until UTRGV used another 3-0 run to take the 22-21 lead as Zech blasted three consecutive kills. Cabranes clinched the victory with a libero kill to end a scrappy rally. She finished with 13 digs.
The Vaqueros will conclude the Furman Invitational Saturday at 9 a.m. against Charleston Southern.
Support UTRGV Volleyball |
Become a Fan on Facebook |
Follow us on Twitter |
Follow us on Instagram |
Follow us on YouTube
