PHOENIX, Ariz. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team dropped its season opener Friday to the Gonzaga Bulldogs, 3-1, as part of the GCU Invitational at Global Credit Union Arena at GCU.
Sophomore outside hitter
Martina Franco led UTRGV (0-1) with a double-double in her debut match, collecting 17 kills on .378 hitting with 14 digs, two blocks and one ace. Senior outside/right side
Valentina Sarti Cipriani had 10 kills and junior middle blocker
Aaliyah Snead added six kills on .357 hitting.
Junior setters
Isabella Costantini and
Sujeili Mermella both tabbed double-doubles. Costantini dished out 26 assists with 12 digs and Mermella had 12 digs and 12 kills. Junior libero
Celianiz Cabranes led all players with 28 digs and recorded four assists.
Gonzaga's
Sjakkie Donkers led all hitters with 24 kills on .309 hitting and had 12 digs.
Nia Damuni tallied 43 assists.
UTRGV went on a 5-0 run in the first set after giving up the first two points. Franco recorded a pair of early kills to aid the streak, putting down a hard kill and a well-placed tip. Franco and junior outside hitter
Nadine Zech tabbed four kills each as the Vaqueros opened up a five-point lead after Zech ripped a kill from the right side and followed that with an ace for a 15-10 advantage.
Gonzaga's block woke up late in the opening set and forced UTRGV to commit some hitting errors. The Bulldogs (1-0) took advantage of the miscues – eight total to hold the Vaqueros to a .100 hitting percentage – to score nine of the last 11 points and claw back for the 25-23 set win.
The second set was tight from first serve. UTRGV turned to the middles early and both junior
Aaliyah Snead and freshman
Shylah Totten found the floor on sharp shots as the teams exchanged points. But the Bulldogs stayed present on the net and hit at a high efficiency to create some separation. Snead slammed one down from the middle to ignite a late run from the Vaqueros, who fought off four set points after falling behind 24-18 with help from aggressive serving by Cabranes, but Gonzaga took a 2-0 lead with a 25-22 set win.
It was all UTRGV in Set 3 behind an incredible effort from Franco. The sophomore contributed to two of UTRGV's three blocks in the frame, including getting all over a solo block on a right-side swing from Gonzaga late in the set. The Vaqueros had their cleanest attacking set with a .314 clip and saw some freshmen step up as
Dimitra Nanou and
Ana Julia Peixoto combined to score three consecutive points to give UTRGV some cushion midway through the set. The Vaqueros used two blocks in the final five points to take the frame, 25-17, and fittingly ended it with a heavy kill by Franco.
The fourth set was incredibly competitive with both teams moving well defensively and leaving their all on the court. The set was tied at 11-11 as Peixoto and Nanou continued to contribute at a high rate on the Vaqueros attack. UTRGV took a 16-15 lead after a GU attack error, but the Bulldogs responded with a 4-0 run to get in control. The Vaqueros answered with a diving, one-arm save by Cabranes and a good challenge call, then Nanou put down a big kill to tie at 19-19. But Gonzaga scored three points in a row again and found itself at match point, then slammed down an over pass to secure the 3-1 win, 25-22.
Nanou and Peixoto finished their first collegiate match with six and five kills, respectively. UTRGV committed 13 service errors which proved costly in the tight match.
The Vaqueros will face host GCU at 8 p.m. Saturday back at Global Credit Union Arena.
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