Texas Border Business
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team fell to the New Mexico State University Aggies 0-3 (26-28, 17-25, 22-25) on Thursday at the Pan American Center.
Senior Barbara Silva led the Vaqueros (7-10, 1-2 WAC) with 12 kills on .435 hitting. Sophomore Sarah Cruz recorded eight kills with four blocks and two aces. Junior Veronika Jandova had seven kills and four blocks. Junior Debora Nazario dished out a match-high 28 assists with four digs.
Savannah Davison led the Aggies (12-3, 3-0 WAC) with 12 kills on .370 hitting, nine digs and three blocks. Megan Hart finished with 10 kills on .471 hitting and four blocks. Julianna Salanoa recorded eight kills and seven blocks.
The Vaqueros trailed 1-5 to start the first set and maintained a similar deficit before falling behind 11-17 late. That’s when Cruz recorded a kill, a block and an ace to help the Vaqueros pull to within 15-18. Then, down 17-22, a Silva kill helped the Vaqueros score three-straight points as part of a 6-1 run to tie the set at 23. An error gave the Aggies set point before a Silva kill and a block by Nazario and Jandova gave the Vaqueros their first lead and set point at 25-24. An error tied the set before a Cruz kill again gave the Vaqueros set point. A block and two kills by Davison, however, ended the set.
The Vaqueros led 3-1 in the second set on a pair of Cruz kills and still led at 4-3 on a Jandova kill and 6-4 on an error. The set was also tied at both 8 and 9 on kills by senior Talita Oliveira. The Aggies took the lead from there, but the Vaqueros stayed close, pulling within 16-17 on a Cruz ace. The Aggies, however, scored the next seven points as part of an 8-1 run to end the set.
The Vaqueros led 1-0 and 2-1 in the third set on Silva kills. The Aggies scored the next three points to take the lead. The Aggies led by as much as five, including 22-17. UTRGV won five of the next seven serves to pull within 22-24 on a Cruz kill before a Cat Kelly kill ended the match.
UTRGV closes out this four-match road trip on Saturday at 9 p.m. at California Baptist University.
 Vaqueros volleyball team fell to the New Mexico State University Aggies 0-3 (26-28, 17-25, 22-25) on Thursday at the Pan American Center.){kind=link}