PEORIA, Illinois – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team fell to Bradley in five sets, 3-2 (28-26, 22-25, 14-25, 25-23, 8-15), Friday at the CEFCU Invitational at the Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria, Illinois.
UTRGV will be back in action at 4:30 p.m. against Lindenwood for its second match of the tournament.
The Vaqueros (3-6) took the first set but couldn't sustain the momentum against the Braves (5-5), who used a big finish in the second set and a dominant third set to seize control of the match.
Right side Ema Petkovic paced UTRGV with a career-high 19 kills, hitting .218. Outside hitter Martina Francofollowed with 13 kills and six digs. Julianna Bryant contributed 10 kills and a team-best three blocks, while Soukeyna Diouf added seven kills. Setter Lana Rnjak ran the offense with career highs in assists (44) and digs (16), and Dunja Stankovic collected a career high 10 digs.
For Bradley, Gracie Furlong turned in a match-high 20 kills while hitting .319, adding 12 digs for a double-double. Setter Maria Drapp nearly posted a triple-double, dishing out 47 assists to go with nine kills and 16 digs. Lauren Daleadded 11 kills, and Adeline Goedheer helped with nine kills and a team-high seven total blocks.
The Vaqueros started the match with a 4-0 run capped by a back-row kill by Franco. The Braves responded with a 7-1 run to take the lead. Service errors haunted UTRGV in the first as it went down 16-12. Bryant and Franco combined for a block to start a run that tied the set at 17-17.
The first ace of the match for Petkovic brought the set to 19-19. Bradley turned to Furlong often in the first and she gave the Braves a 23-21 lead late. A kill by Diouf followed by back-to-back kills by Petkovic made it 24-23 UTRGV. Following a kill by Bryant, Franco came up with a solo block to win the set 28-26.
Petkovic stayed active to start the second, scoring three of the first six points in the second set. Three consecutive attacking errors by the Braves put UTRGV up 10-5. The Braves called timeout and then followed with a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to 13-12.
Coming out of the timeout, Petkovic collected another pair of kills and an ace before forcing the final timeout of the set from Bradley with UTRGV leading 17-14. A pair of Furlong kills gave the Braves momentum, and they ended the set on a 6-0 run to win it 25-22.
Furlong was up to 12 kills early in the third as she put the Braves up 8-6. UTRGV called timeout trailing by nine, but Bradley continued to roll and closed the set on a 6-1 run to win it, 25-14.
Bradley carried the momentum into the fourth and built a 7-3 lead. Franco, Petkovic and Aaliyah Snead delivered big kills to spark a second wind late in the fourth for UTRGV. A huge dig by Celianiz Cabranes kept the rally alive resulting in UTRGV taking its first lead of the set, 21-20. The Vaqueros would take advantage of errors before a blast by Bryant gave UTRGV the set 25-23.
The teams were locked early in the fifth as senior Agata Makowska served an ace to tie it at 5-5. Franco tied the set herself at 7-7 after a kill and an ace. The Braves put away the match on an 8-1 run to take the final set 15-8.
Support UTRGV Vaqueros™ | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube
