Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team dropped its home opener 0-3 (20-25, 21-25, 15-25) to the defending WAC Champion New Mexico State University Aggies on Monday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
UTRGV held a moment of silence before the match in memory of men’s basketball head coach Lew Hill, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 55. UTRGV student-athletes, coaches and staff wore black ribbons in Hill’s memory.
Senior Veronika Jandova led the Vaqueros (0-5, 0-3 WAC) with 10 kills on .389 hitting. Graduate studentMackenzie Coates posted her second double-double with 16 assists and 14 digs.
Savannah Davison led the Aggies (3-0, 3-0 WAC) with eight kills, eight digs and five blocks. Lia Mosher had eight kills on .353 hitting with five blocks. Victoria Barrett recorded seven kills and nine digs. Shaney Lipscombhad seven kills with three blocks.
The first set was tight early, with the Vaqueros going up 5-3 on a kill by freshman Ada Bulgur. The Aggies won the next five serves as part of a 9-2 run to take a 12-7 lead. Then, with the score 10-14, the Aggies went on a 5-1 run to go up 19-11. Six serves later, with the Vaqueros down 14-22, two Coates kills, two Cruz kills and an ace by Bulgur brough the Vaqueros to within three, but the Aggies scored three of the final four points to take the set.
The Aggies jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the second set. The Aggies extended their lead to 18-9 and 18-10 before the Vaqueros won seven-straight points, capped by a Bulgur kill, to pull to within two. Then, with the score 19-17, the Aggies scored five-straight points to push the set out of reach.
The third set was tight early, as the Vaqueros were within 9-10 before a 7-0 Aggies run. Then, with the score 11-19, the Vaqueros scored four of the next five points to pull within 15-20, but that’s as close as they got.
UTRGV and New Mexico State face off again Tuesday at 12 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. UTRGV Athletics is capping capacity at the UTRGV Fieldhouse at 231 fans. Single-match tickets had to be purchased by 5 p.m. Monday and are no longer available. For more information about match day, visit GoUTRGV.com/game-day.
Fans can watch for free online at WACDigitalNetwork.com.
