RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Redshirt sophomore middle blocker and Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant had a career day to lead The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-15, 25-14) Southland Conference (SLC) win over the New Orleans (UNO) Privateers Saturday in front of 1,198 fans at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Bryant had a career-high 16 kills on .542 hitting with a career-high three solo blocks and a career-high tying six blocks. UTRGV (12-7, 7-1 Southland Conference) served 17 aces, which ties the third-most aces in a match in program history and ties the most aces in a four-set match in the nation this season.
Junior setter
Isabella Costantini served a career-high tying five aces in her fifth double-double, dishing out 44 assists with 10 digs and three kills. Freshman outside hitter
Dimitra Nanou had a career-high tying four aces with 11 kills and 14 digs in her sixth double-double. Sophomore outside hitter
Martina Franco tabbed 10 kills with nine digs, three aces and two blocks. Junior libero
Celianiz Cabranes had 14 digs and three aces. Junior defensive specialist
Isa Bento added two aces.
Laura Piva and
Courtney Roundtree had 10 kills each to lead UNO (7-14, 2-6 SLC).
Rylie Hallman had 11 digs and 19 assists while
Defne Eciroglu finished with 16 assists.
The Vaqueros overcame a slow start to win a back-and-forth first set, 25-22. The frame featured 12 ties and nine lead changes as both teams struggled to find a rhythm and string many points together. UTRGV served five aces in the first set, including back-to-back aces from Cabranes to secure the set win after a 5-0 run down the stretch. Bryant had four blocks in the frame and brought a good spark late with a hard kill up the middle.
Set 2 started similar to the first with both teams committing some errors and swapping scores as they tried to create momentum. The Privateers found first separation, using a 3-0 run to go up 12-8 and force a UTRGV timeout.
The service line dictated the middle portion of the second set. Costantini served three aces in a row to knot things up and Nanou added the fourth ace of the frame as part of a 3-0 run to get the Vaqueros on top. UTRGV's lead expanded to four points after service errors by UNO. The Privateers closed the second set well, outscoring the Vaqueros 11-3 after falling behind 18-14 to come back and even the match with a 25-21 set win.
Set 3 was all Vaqueros as Bryant's dynamic play sparked UTRGV's best set of the match. Bryant recorded a block and three kills in a row to quickly build a 7-3 lead. Serving remained a big factor in tempo as Franco's booming jump serve led to a scoring run with a pair of aces for the sophomore to put the Vaqueros up by seven.
The Privateers were able to stop UTRGV's momentum and get within three, but Franco's serve flipped the set down the stretch. She tallied her third ace of the frame and got UNO out of rhythm from the line, leading to a 7-0 run that put the Vaqueros firmly in control as they rolled to a 25-15 set win.
UTRGV ripped off consistent scoring runs to dominate the fourth set. Cabranes served tough to anchor an 8-0 run, then Bento's serving helped open up a 16-16 lead as Bryant recorded a pair of kills in a 5-0 run. The Privateers found a response as they went on a 6-1 scoring run to get within five points, but the Vaqueros strung together six points to close out the match with a pair of blocks and back-to-back aces from Nanou. Franco sealed the win with a kill.
UTRGV's next match is set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at McNeese.
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