HAMMOND, Louisiana – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team fell to the Southeastern Lions in five sets, 3-2 (25-16, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22, 15-10), in a Southland Conference (SLC) battle Thursday at the University Center in Hammond, La.
The Vaqueros (12-8, 8-1 SLC) rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force a decisive fifth set against Southeastern (11-11, 8-1 SLC), as the two top teams in the conference faced off.
Outside hitter
Martina Franco set a career high with 21 kills and added 11 digs for her seventh consecutive double-double, leading UTRGV with 81 attacks - the third-most in a match in program history. Middle blocker
Aaliyah Snead set a career high in kills with 16, hitting .519. Setter
Lana Rnjak set a career high with 54 assists. Senior libero
Celianiz Cabranes led the defense with 22 digs, her 20th career match with 20 or more digs, tying the program record. Freshman outside hitter
Soukeyna Diouf added nine kills and defensive specialist and Brownsville St. Joseph alum
Carmina Tijerina chipped in 12 digs.
For the Lions,
Abby Bailey and
Kyra McKelvey each had 15 kills, and
Keira Beverly hit .545 with 14 kills and six blocks.
Gracie Brown had a match-high 10 blocks. Setter
Ashley Richardson collected 47 assists, and
Melina Gonzalez led the defense with 19 digs.
Eleven of the first 12 points in Set 1 were won by immediate side-outs before Rnjak held serve with an ace to make it 7-6. Bailey secured her fifth kill on her fifth attack as the Lions took a 14-10 lead. A kill by Redshirt junior Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant stopped a Lions run but Southeastern regrouped to take a 22-13 lead. Snead picked up her fourth and fifth kills of the set to give UTRGV momentum, but the Lions took the set, 25-16.
Snead started the second set with two more kills to give the Vaqueros a 4-3 advantage. The Lions rattled off four straight before a kill by Bryant stopped the run. A setter dump by Rnjak made it 10-8 UTRGV and forced a timeout by the Lions.
Bryant began to bring the energy for UTRGV, combining with Rnjak for a block before two consecutive kills made it 18-15. Southeastern used a 4-1 run to make it 20-20. Freshman
Jasmyn Walker had two straight kills, but the Lions countered with the final five points to take the second set, 25-22.
Snead started the scoring again for UTRGV in Set 3 with a kill and solo block as the Vaqueros built a 6-4 lead. A 3-0 run for the Lions tied the set at 9-9. Two kills for Walker and two for Franco made it a 15-11 advantage for the Vaqueros at the media timeout.
A solo block for Bryant was followed by a kill from Diouf and back-row kill from Franco to make it 18-15. The longest point of the night had three consecutive attacks for Franco, who finished it with a soft touch over the block to make it 22-18. The Lions tied the set at 22-22 but a kill by Franco made it set point before Bryant and Diouf combined for a block to take Set 3, 25-23.
Franco reached double-digit kills early in the fourth set and then a free ball let Rnjak take a swing and put UTRGV ahead 7-6. Senior
Isa Bento served an ace as part of a 6-2 run that was capped by another kill from Snead. Franco scored the next four points for the Vaqueros as they took an 18-12 lead. A slice from Diouf was followed by a block by the pair of Snead and Walker to make it 21-15. Franco tooled the block as UTRGV took the fourth set, 25-22.
Two kills for Franco helped the Vaqueros start Set 5 with a 3-1 lead. The Lions scored seven of the next eight points and took an 8-4 lead. Franco's 20
th kill of the match was followed by a combined block for Bryant and Diouf to cut the lead to 9-7. Kills by Diouf and Snead forced a timeout by the Lions. Southeastern would come out of the timeout and take the final set 15-10 for the match.
UTRGV returns to action at 1 p.m. Saturday at LSU New Orleans at the Human Performance Center in New Orleans, La.
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