NEW ORLEANS – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team defeated the LSU New Orleans Privateers in four sets, 3-1 (25-15, 28-26, 25-20, 25-20), in a Southland Conference (SLC) match Saturday at the Human Performance Center.
The Vaqueros (13-8, 9-1 SLC) were led by outside hitter Martina Franco, who had a career high with 23 kills, topping the 21 she posted two days earlier at Southeastern, and added 13 digs for her eighth consecutive double-double. Redshirt junior and Harlingen High alum Julianna Bryant had a career high 17 kills, passing her previous best of 16 against LSU New Orleans last season. Setter Lana Rnjak had a career-high 55 assists for the second straight match. Middle blocker Aaliyah Snead had seven kills, freshman outside hitter Soukeyna Diouf added nine, and freshman Jasmyn Walker chipped in six. Senior libero Celianiz Cabranes led the defense with 15 digs, and defensive specialists Carmina Tijerina and Dunja Stankovic each had 10.
For the Privateers (2-21, 0-10 SLC), Ava Frerman led the way with 14 kills, hitting .270, and Armie Hall added 13 kills on a .290 clip. Laura Piva had seven kills and Olivia Bartrina six. Setters Mariana Franco and Defne Eciroglu combined for 39 assists, Nyakuak Lual led the blockers with five, and Vladana Ristic led the defense with 12 digs.
UTRGV started Set 1 with a 5-3 advantage after Bryant slammed a ball through the middle. The Privateers took the lead at 6-5, but the Vaqueros followed with nine straight points. Diouf and Rnjak each had solo blocks in the run, which ended with a Diouf kill off a Bryant set. The two sides traded kills before Franco had a kill through the block to make it 20-11. Snead collected a late kill as UTRGV finished the set hitting .440 to take it 25-15.
A pair of kills by Franco brought UTRGV within one in the second set, 6-5. The Privateers scored seven of the next nine points, taking advantage of errors by the Vaqueros. Franco stopped the run before back-to-back kills by Bryant cut the deficit to 13-10. Tijerina came in to serve and helped the Vaqueros to five consecutive defensive points.
The Privateers came back to tie the set at 17-17 but kills by Bryant and Diouf put UTRGV in front. Walker and Snead came together for a block to put UTRGV up 21-19. Franco and Walker each collected kills before a service error by the Privateers made it set point. Three straight points for LSU New Orleans were followed a kill for Bryant with the score now settled at 25-25. On the third set point for the Privateers, Hall beat the block to take the set, 28-26.
Set 3 started with the Privateers holding an 8-5 advantage. Two consecutive kills by Franco sparked an 8-1 run with Bryant contributing two kills and two block assists in the run that made it 17-12. Stankovic delivered the first ace in the match for the Vaqueros to make it 23-17. A kill by Walker set up Franco to end the set with a scorching kill, 25-20.
UTRGV used a 4-0 run early in Set 4 to hold a 6-4 lead. A kill and a block for Bryant made it a 9-5 advantage. The Privateers closed the deficit, but a kill by Snead made it 13-10. The Privateers surged back, taking a 19-18 lead on an ace by Frerman. Diouf and Franco scored the next two points before three attacking errors by the Privateers had UTRGV in front 23-19. Franco ended the match with back-to-back kills as UTRGV won Set 4, 25-20.
UTRGV plays at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Dugan Wellness Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
###
Support UTRGV Vaqueros™ | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube
