Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team beat the Tarleton Texans 3-1 (25-20, 25-13, 24-26, 25-18) on Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Junior Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros (16-9, 7-4 WAC) with 23 kills, nine digs, four blocks and three aces. Senior Veronika Jandova posted 12 kills and two blocks. Sophomore Luisa Silva Dos Santos recorded 10 kills and four blocks. Freshman Luanna Emiliano posted her 20th double-double with 44 assists, 19 digs and three blocks.
Lauren Kersey led the Texans (14-14, 5-6 WAC) with 10 kills and five digs.
The Texans led for much of the early going in the first set, going up 18-14. Kills by sophomore Ioanna Charitonidi and Cruz brought the Vaqueros within two. One serve later, with the score 16-19, Cruz came up with kills to bookend an 8-0 run to give the Vaqueros set point. One serve after that, a Cruz kill ended the set.
Jandova came up with kills to start and end a 7-2 run to start the second set. The Texans won the next three serves to pull to within two. Then, with the score 11-7, Cruz recorded back-to-back kills to spark a 6-0 run to put the Vaqueros up 10 and push the set out of reach.
After dropping the third set, the Vaqueros jumped out to a 13-5 lead in set four. The Texans responded with a 5-1 run to make the score 10-14, but four Jandova kills and two Cruz aces powered an 8-4 run to put the Vaqueros up 22-14 and push the set out of reach.
UTRGV closes out the regular season on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Abilene Christian at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. 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.
