Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TX – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team learned on Monday that junior right side hitter Sarah Cruz is the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Volleyball TicketSmarter Offensive Player of the Week and freshman setter Luanna Emiliano is the WAC Volleyball TicketSmarter Freshman of the Week after leading UTRGV to a 3-0 record at the Pirate Invitational over the weekend.
UTRGV swept Appalachian State and host East Carolina on Friday before sweeping Gardner-Webb on Saturday. UTRGV has won six of its last seven matches and now has six sweeps this season.
Cruz averaged 4.67 kills on .345 hitting and 2.67 digs while serving up four aces in nine sets.
She opened the tournament with 15 kills on .367 hitting, six digs and two aces against Appalachian State. She then posted her third 20+ kills match of the season with 22 kills on .357 hitting and 12 digs against East Carolina for her fourth double-double. Cruz closed out the tournament with five kills, six digs, one ace, one assist, and one block against Gardner-Webb.
This is Emiliano’s second-straight WAC Volleyball TicketSmarter Freshman of the Week honor after averaging 10.33 assists and 4.22 digs to go with five kills, four aces and four blocks in nine sets.
Emiliano opened the tournament with 27 assists, nine digs, one ace, three kills on .600 hitting and two blocks against Appalachian State. She followed that up with 45 assists, 13 digs, two aces and one block against East Carolina. Emiliano closed out the tournament with her ninth double-double of the season, recording 21 assists, 16 digs, two kills, one ace and one block against Gardner-Webb.
UTRGV returns home on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse against UTEP. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at UTRGVTickets.com. Those unable to attend the match in person can watch in the United States on ESPN+ or internationally on the WAC Digital Network.
