RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team broke three program records Saturday with its 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-23) sweep of the Houston Christian University Huskies at the UTRGV Fieldhouse: the 12
th consecutive win is the longest streak in program history, and with 1,079 fans in attendance, UTRGV broke the overall and average attendance records.
The Vaqueros (18-7, 13-1 Southland Conference) drew 13,391 total fans across 10 dates and averaged 1,339, besting last season's records of 13,386 total and 1,338 average fans.
Sophomore outside hitter
Martina Franco earned her fifth double-double with 10 kills, 10 digs, three blocks and two aces. Senior right side
Valentina Sarti Cipriani led the Vaqueros with 11 kills on .375 hitting and had five blocks. Redshirt sophomore Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant and freshman outside hitter
Dimitra Nanou had eight kills each. Bryant hit .438 and had three blocks while Nanou had 12 digs. Junior libero
Celianiz Cabranes finished with 15 digs and two aces. Junior setter
Isabella Costantini totaled 39 assists, six digs, two aces and two blocks.
Katy Barger led the Huskies (12-15, 7-7 SLC) with 11 kills on .375 hitting.
Bianca Byerly had 16 digs and
Madison Hess totaled 28 assists and 10 digs for a double-double.
The first set was extremely tight through the first 20 points, with neither team able to separate by more than a point or two as they swapped scores and treated fans to long rallies. UTRGV's block turned the tides. Junior middle blocker
Aaliyah Snead and Cipriani teamed up for back-to-back blocks, then Cipriani tabbed a kill to force a Huskies timeout with the lead at 13-9. Franco contributed to three straight points, recording two kills and a block with Costantini, to extend the lead to 16-10.
UTRGV collected four blocks through the middle of Set 1, leading to the Huskies trying to work around the block and committing a series of attack errors. The Vaqueros withstood a late push from HCU to get to set point up 24-20 following a sharp cross-court kill from Cipriani. The Huskies fought off two set points then a service error secured the Set 1 win for UTRGV, 25-22.
The Vaqueros were quick to jump on top in the second set, going on a 6-0 run behind the big serve of Nanou. Franco and the middle duo of Snead and Bryant were effective on the net, putting down kills and stacking three blocks to get UTRGV a 12-4 lead.
Houston Christian found some momentum behind
Joya Euhus, who was swinging consistently on the right side and recorded a block to help the Huskies get within five points at 16-11.
Cipriani tabbed a pair of kills and joined Bryant on a block to spark a 5-0 run for UTRGV. The Vaqueros grew the gap to 21-11 with an ace from Cabranes. The Huskies managed to get within seven, but Nanou tooled the block to reach set point at 24-15. Again, HCU fought off two set points, then Nanou found the high hands to take the set, 25-17.
The Huskies looked hungry to open the third. They were hitting well and playing scrappy defense to jump out to a 7-1 lead, including a 6-0 start to the set which forced an early Vaqueros timeout. UTRGV's block got active and Franco had some nice swings to get within one until the Huskies rebuilt a three-point gap.
UTRGV's middles changed the frame. Snead and Bryant won battles on the net, then Cabranes served an ace to knot the set at 16-16. Bryant recorded back-to-back kills to give the Vaqueros the lead at 18-17, including launching a kill inside the 10-foot line on the slide attack. Junior defensive specialist
Isa Bento backed a 4-0 run from the service line with an ace to put UTRGV in control at 20-17, but the Huskies continued to battle and used a 4-0 run of their own to tie at 22-22.
Nanou and Cipriani powered through the defense to help the Vaqueros close it out, 25-23 in the third and secure the sweep.
UTRGV plays at Northwestern State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. before closing the regular season on Nov. 15 at East Texas A&M.
