RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-18) Friday to the San Francisco (USF) Dons to wrap up their run in the UTRGV Tournament at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
UTRGV (4-4) was led offensively by senior outside hitter
Ilana De Assis, who had 12 kills to go with nine digs. Seniors Claudia Lupescu and Perris Key both had nine kills with Key hitting .412 and serving two aces as she matched her season-high in kills. Sophomore outside hitter
Nadine Zech added seven kills. Sophomore libero
Celianiz Cabranes had 12 digs and sophomore setter
Isabella Costantini tallied 40 assists with a season-high three kills.
Michalina Rola and
Maria Petkova paced San Francisco (4-4) with 15 kills on .500 hitting and 11 kills on .345 hitting, respectively.
Delaney Ewing added nine kills on .750 hitting as setter
Aylen Ayub made good decisions and dished out 39 assists to help the Dons hit .371 in the match with just eight errors.
San Francisco, which cruised to a 3-0 win over Houston Christian to start the day, continued to roll as the nightcap got started. The Dons opened up a 10-5 lead as they continued to hit at a high clip, forcing some defensive struggles. But the Vaqueros settled in as Lupescu held down the serve-receive game and Key delivered a pair of aces. A late 4-1 run got UTRGV within 23-22 of USF, but the Dons took the opening frame, 25-23.
The Vaqueros took the early lead in the second set, but the two teams quickly reverted back to playing tight and keeping the score close. Zech ripped three kills in a row to put UTRGV on top at the media timeout, 15-14. Costantini and Co. took advantage of a hole in the middle of San Francisco's court to convert on off-speed and second-touch points. But the Dons were the first to set point, and though a Key slide kill cut the deficit to one, USF took the second set, 25-23.
San Francisco controlled the third and secured the match with a 25-18 win. Both teams passed well and treated the crowd to good rallies, but while the Dons were able to convert on most of their swings and limit mistakes, the Vaqueros struggled to put balls away.
Senior outside hitter
Ingridy Nicoleti Foltran entered the match in the third and quickly contributed three kills on three swings. Additionally, tough serving from Cabranes helped spark a run late as Key and Costantini continued to compete. Sophomore Sharyland Pioneer alum
Natalie Reyes served up an ace and sparked a 3-0 run, but the Dons held on for the win.
Up next for the Vaqueros is the UTEP Southwest Showdown Sept. 20-21 where UTRGV will face UTEP and Texas State.
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