NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team pushed the Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Ladyjacks to the brink in an extremely competitive Southland Conference (SLC) match Saturday at Shelton Gym, but fell 3-2 (24-26, 25-20, 16-25, 28-26, 15-8).
Freshman outside hitter
Dimitra Nanou had career highs of 21 kills and 17 digs in her third double-double for UTRGV (6-7, 1-1 SLC), leading all hitters. Senior right side
Valentina Sarti Cipriani tabbed 17 kills on .567 hitting. Junior outside hitter
Nadine Zech added a season-high 16 kills with a career-high tying 16 digs and had three blocks in her double-double effort. Junior middle blocker
Aaliyah Snead added eight kills on .471 hitting with two blocks. Junior setter
Isabella Costantini dished out 57 assists with a career-high tying 15 digs for her fourth double-double and had a career-high five aces. Junior libero
Celianiz Cabranes finished with 22 digs.
Ilana De Assis led SFA (7-6, 2-0 SLC) with 19 kills and had 19 digs.
Katherine Holtman and
Kennedy Jones had 17 kills on .552 hitting and 12 kills, respectively.
Camryn Hill had a match-high 26 digs and
Kyanna Creecy tabbed five blocks.
The Vaqueros had great energy as the match started and came out fast, using a pair of 5-0 runs to take control up 10-4. Snead was effective in the middle early and Costantini mixed her hitters well to keep the Ladyjacks out of system. SFA rebounded well and gave UTRGV fits from the service line to get within one point, but UTRGV was first to 20. The rallies were long and competitive as the set rolled on, but three consecutive service errors by the Vaqueros kept SFA close. Zech and Bryant came up clutch, putting down a kill and recording a block to secure the 1-0 lead with a 26-24 set win.
Set 2 was tight early, with both teams covering the court well defensively and taking big swings on the net. Costantini served an ace to knot things up at 11-11 after the Vaqueros fell behind by three, but the Ladyjacks scored five unanswered to turn the tides in their favor. UTRGV had no blocks in the second set, and SFA used an efficient .487 hitting percentage to keep the Vaqueros out of rhythm and even the match at 1-1 after a 25-20 set.
The third set was all UTRGV as the defense picked up, leading to a sharp and versatile offensive attack. Nanou and Zech got the Vaqueros on a roll, forcing an early SFA timeout after scoring three unanswered, then a solo block by Snead pushed the run to 5-0 and put UTRGV up 14-7. The teams swapped scores through the middle of the set, but UTRGV applied pressure with the block and held SFA to a .098 hitting percentage as the Vaqueros rolled late, winning the frame 25-16 to go up 2-1 in the match.
Set 4 treated spectators to high-level volleyball from both squads. UTRGV took an early 12-9 lead off a kill by Snead as it passed well and had good net pressure. SFA got its block fired up to knot the frame at 12-12, then scored four in a row to force a timeout up 17-14.
The Vaqueros showed great fight down the stretch as Nanou came up with big kills and an ace to even things up at 20-20. Junior middle blocker and Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant and Zech tabbed crucial kills to get UTRGV to match point, but the teams battled with great defense and heavy hitting until SFA took the set, 28-26.
SFA used a quick start in the fifth set to secure the match win, taking the frame 15-8. The Vaqueros continued to fight despite falling behind in the deciding set, spoiling two match points with kills from Nanou. But SFA had an errorless performance in the frame to power to the win.
The Vaqueros return to the UTRGV Fieldhouse for their next match, a 6:30 p.m. first serve on Thursday against Northwestern State. 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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