AKRON, Ohio – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team fought for a comeback victory, 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 28-26, 15-25, 15-9), Saturday over the Akron Zips to close the Zips/CSU Invitational at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Senior outside hitter
Ilana De Assis had a career-high 23 kills on .380 hitting and tabbed eight digs as she continued her strong start for UTRGV (4-2). Sophomore setter
Isabella Costantini earned her second double-double of the season with a career-high 56 assists and 10 digs with two aces. Senior outside hitter
Claudia Lupescu also notched a double-double with 16 kills, 10 digs and three aces. Sophomore outside hitter
Nadine Zech added 13 kills with nine digs and senior right side
Perris Key had a season-high nine kills with three blocks to help the Vaqueros out-block the Zips, 8-7. Sophomore libero
Celianiz Cabranes notched a season-high 26 digs to back a solid defensive effort.
Akron (1-4) was led offensively by
Lauren Baker's 17 kills.
Gabby Brissett added 12 kills and
Emanouela Christodoulou had 11.
Akron took a tight first set, 25-23, as the Zips played efficiently on offense and hit .429 in the frame. The Vaqueros were hitting well too, with Assis and Lupescu leading the scoring. UTRGV got the first cushion up 12-7, but Akron rallied to even things up at 15-15. The teams swapped points through the back end of the set until the Zips snagged the final two points for the 1-0 lead.
The Vaqueros evened the match with a tough second set. Senior captains Lupescu and Key came up big for UTRGV, combining for a dozen kills as the Vaqueros took the frame, 25-20. Costantini mixed up her attackers and dropped an ace as part of an 8-0 run that put UTRGV in complete control, up 20-14. The teams went back-and-forth down the stretch, but the Vaqueros were able to put it away with the resilience they used to erase an early 6-0 run for the Zips.
Set 3 was a tight battle from start to finish. Sophomore middle blocker and Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant got involved early to help UTRGV get a quick lead at 9-6, but the Zips came right back with a 4-0 run. Both teams used scoring runs to knot the frame at 16-16, then they took turns putting away rallies, swapping ties and lead changes to 23-23. Zech ripped a kill to get UTRGV its third set point, then an Akron error secured the 2-1 advantage for the Vaqueros, 28-26.
Akron bounced back to control the fourth, winning the set 25-15 and forcing a deciding fifth. The Zips had variety in their attack and forced the Vaqueros out of system, resulting in a dip in offensive efficiency. Junior Sharyland Pioneer alum
Natalie Reyes served an ace to get UTRGV within six late, but Akron closed the set on a 4-0 run.
The Vaqueros quickly jumped on top in the fifth, using a 5-0 run to get in control. Lupescu had four kills in the frame and helped UTRGV get out to a 12-4 lead. Akron strung together a couple of two-point runs, but Bryant stopped one and Lupescu stopped the next to get to match point, then slammed down a kill to take the frame, 15-9, and seal UTRGV's win.
Up next for the Vaqueros will be the home opener Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against Texas Tech at the UTRGV Fieldhouse to kick off the UTRGV Tournament, which runs Sept. 12-14. Visit
UTRGVTickets.com to purchase tournament, single match or season tickets for the 2024 volleyball season. A clear bag policy is in place for the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
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