RIO GRANDE VALLEY – It took nearly three hours and an all-out effort for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team to earn its fifth consecutive win as they rallied in a thrilling 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-6) victory over the Southeastern (SLU) Lions Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in front of 1,104 fans.
Freshman outside hitter
Dimitra Nanou led UTRGV (11-7, 6-1 Southland Conference) with a career-high 23 kills on .354 hitting and had 16 digs for her fifth double-double. Junior libero
Celianiz Cabranes was tremendous defensively, recording a match and season-high tying 28 digs with five assists as she anchored a significant defensive effort. Sophomore outside hitter
Martina Franco finished with 20 kills on .319 hitting with 11 digs for her second double-double. Senior right side
Valentina Sarti Cipriani added 11 kills with four blocks. Junior setter
Isabella Costantini tallied a season-high 61 assists with four aces and two kills.
Kyra McKelvey led Southeastern (13-6, 5-2 SLC) with 17 kills while
Anne Brauckmiller and
Alexis Logarbo had 13 and 10, respectively.
Lexi Gonzalez tabbed 17 digs and the Lions setters,
Peyton Stokley and
Ashley Richardson, had 24 and 23 assists, respectively.
UTRGV opened the match firing on all cylinders and quickly took an 8-1 lead behind a solo block by junior middle blocker
Aaliyah Snead and back-to-back aces from Nanou, forcing an early timeout from the Lions. Even when swinging out of system, the Vaqueros were able to find the floor to expand the lead to 16-11 as Franco strung together kills from the front and back row.
Southeastern committed errors down the stretch and never found a rhythm while the Vaqueros continued to pass well and score in a variety of ways, expanding the lead to seven again. Snead and Cipriani combined for a kill to get to 23-17, and another SLU error sealed the 25-18 set win for UTRGV.
The second set was much more competitive and neither team was able to string more than three points together through most of the frame. The Lions increased their kill percentage as their passing improved, keeping things tighter than the first set. UTRGV was electric defensively in the back row with Cabranes leading the way, getting under hard-hit balls and making precise passes on diving saves to keep the Vaqueros attacking.
UTRGV opened up a 20-16 lead following an ace from Costantini, but Southeastern responded with a 5-0 run to take the lead. Brauckmiller scored three consecutive kills to give the Lions the 25-23 set win and even the match at 1-1.
Set 3 was competitive as both teams tried to push the tempo of the match, but a string of challenges slowed down the rhythm in the 46-minute frame. The Vaqueros and Lions exchanged ties and two-point leads as the defenses played well and the big arms got hot. Redshirt sophomore and Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant was effective up the middle and recorded a pair of kills during a 3-0 run that put the Vaqueros up, 18-17. The Lions responded with a 3-0 run of their own, but a Costantini ace and a kill from Nanou knotted things up at 22-22. An overturned call and a service error helped lift SLU to a 2-1 match lead after a 25-23 set.
Set 4 was everything a fan could hope for as both teams showed relentless effort as they chased the set win. The Lions found the first separation for an 8-5 lead as the offense stayed efficient, but the Vaqueros defense turned things up. UTRGV recorded three consecutive blocks in a 4-0 run for a 13-11 lead – first a combined block from Snead and Franco, then solo blocks from Snead and Cipriani.
Southeastern answered with a small run to take a 15-14 lead after an ace. The back-and-forth theme continued and the Vaqueros ripped off four unanswered points as Cabranes played dynamic defense to keep rallies alive. The crowd at the Fieldhouse was fired up after a kill by Franco to the center of the court to cap a long, exciting rally, and the Vaqueros rode that energy to a strong set finish with a 5-1 run. Costantini served her fourth ace to take the set, 25-18.
The fifth set was all UTRGV as the determined Vaqueros rode the incredible energy of the crowd. Nanou recorded three quick kills and an ace for a 6-1 lead. UTRGV was textbook in serve-receive, leading to a .462 hitting percentage in the final frame as the Vaqueros slammed down kill after kill to lead by 10. Nanou secured the 15-6 set win and the match with a huge kill down the line.
The Vaqueros will be back in action at the UTRGV Fieldhouse at 12 p.m. Saturday against New Orleans. Fans can purchase tickets at
UTRGVTickets.com. Students get in free with a valid student ID but will need to claim a ticket at
GoUTRGV.com/StudentTickets. A
clear bag policy is in place for all UTRGV Athletics venues.
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