LUBBOCK, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team closed out the Red Raiders Classic with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-18) win over Prairie View A&M (PVAMU) at the United Supermarkets Arena Friday.
Middle blocker Aaliyah Snead was named to the All-Tournament Team after helping the Vaqueros (3-5) to a 1-2 record to end the week. Snead was a consistent force in the middle, finishing the tournament with 12 kills and 11 blocks. Sophomore Ema Petkovic recorded six aces in the match, which tied for ninth-most in program history. Middle blocker Julianna Bryant tied for the team lead in kills with Petkovic with nine. Setter Lana Rnjak tallied 30 assists, while defensive specialist Dunja Stankovic and outside hitter Martina Franco tied with a team-best eight digs.
For the Panthers (0-9), Iyonna Sherwood led the attack with eight kills. Taylor Ruffin recorded 13 assists while Camille Middleton topped the team with eight digs.
One of the best servers in the country, Petkovic had three aces early in the match to put the Vaqueros up 9-3. Freshman Soukeyna Diouf got involved in the action with a kill before accompanying Snead in a pair of blocks to bring the score to 17-8. Bryant took over to close the set with three kills and a solo block. UTRGV won the first set, 25-15.
The Vaqueros rolled into the second set with confidence as Franco slammed the ball through a pair of Panthers blockers to take a 5-2 lead. PVAMU crawled back after a strong attack to tie the set at 10-10. Behind strong serves from senior Celianiz Cabranes, the Vaqueros scored six straight to take an 18-12 lead.
The longest rally of the match came late in the second with Diouf ending the point with a rocket down the middle of the court. Rnjak collected her first ace of the match, and the Vaqueros took the second set 25-17.
PVAMU jumped out to a 5-2 lead to open the third set, but a pair of aces from Petkovic tied the match at 5-5. Bryant then joined with a pair of her own aces to put the Vaqueros in front for the first time in the set, 9-8. UTRGV took advantage of errors by the Panthers before Petkovic served her sixth ace of the game to make it 16-12.
Kills by Franco and Diouf pushed UTRGV to a 19-15 lead. Rnjak collected the team's 11th ace of the match before Franco's kill secured the sweep with a 25-18 win in the third set.
The Vaqueros return to action against Bradley at the CEFCU Invitational in Peoria, Illinois, on Friday, September 18, which is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m.
