NATCHITOCHES, Louisiana – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team swept the Northwestern State (NSU) Demons in Southland Conference play, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-18), Thursday at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches.
The Vaqueros (9-7, 5-0 SLC) hit .330 as a team to stay unbeaten in conference play. Right side
Ema Petkovic led UTRGV with 15 kills, hitting .387. Outside hitter
Martina Franco posted her third straight double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs, adding two aces. Redshirt junior Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant chipped in 10 kills while hitting .600, her second straight match at .600 or better. Middle blocker
Aaliyah Snead added seven kills and a team-high three blocks. Setter
Lana Rnjak dished out 41 assists, her third straight match with more than 40. Libero
Celianiz Cabranes collected 11 digs and moved into sixth in program history with 1,123 career digs.
For NSU (10-10, 2-3 SLC), right side
Amber Craig led the way with 11 kills on a .647 hitting clip, and middle blocker
Olivia Nzioki added eight kills and a team-high five blocks. Outside hitter
Elsie Sanchez also had eight kills, setter
Jade Longlad had 27 assists, and
Emmarie McFarland led the defense with 14 digs.
The Demons started with the advantage in Set 1 as Nzioki's fourth kill gave them an 8-6 lead. Franco's fourth kill of the set helped UTRGV take the lead back 13-11. Back-to-back aces from Franco gave the Vaqueros an 18-13 lead. NSU went go on a 4-1 run late in the set to climb within three, but Petkovic closed out Set 1 with a kill to win it 25-21.
Set 2 started with a kill by
Soukeyna Diouf as the Vaqueros built a 6-4 lead. Diouf then had two straight kills followed by a solo block to put UTRGV up 10-5. Two digs by Cabranes kept a point alive before Franco ended the point to make it 15-10.
Bryant capped a 3-1 run with a pair of kills to put UTRGV up 20-13. Another late run by the Demons brought the score to 22-20 UTRGV. Late errors by NSU sandwiched a solo block by Snead as the Vaqueros took the second set 25-20.
The third set was tightly contested at the start with a kill by Bryant making it 6-6. Sophomore Brownsville St. Joseph alum
Carmina Tijerina came in to serve and sparked a 4-0 run for UTRGV. The Demons scored three straight to cut the Vaqueros' lead to 12-10. After the set was tied at 15, the Vaqueros scored six in a row, capped by a Petkovic ace. A Petkovic kill set up match point, and Rnjak closed it out with an ace for a 25-18 win.
UTRGV continues its road trip Saturday with a 1 p.m. SLC match at East Texas A&M.
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