Texas Border Business
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team completed its second sweep of the day, beating host East Carolina Pirates 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17) as part of the Pirate Invitational on Friday at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
The Vaqueros (7-4), who swept Appalachian State earlier in the day, have now swept five matches.
Junior Sarah Cruz led the Vaqueros by posting her fourth double-double of the season with 22 kills on .357 hitting and 12 digs. Freshman Luanna Emiliano posted her eighth double-double with 45 assists, 13 digs and two aces. Senior Veronika Jandova recorded 10 kills on .562 hitting and two aces. Sophomore Luisa Silva Dos Santos finished with nine kills, six digs and two blocks. Freshman Perris Key posted eight kills and 11 digs.
Bri Wood led the Pirates (3-5) with 13 kills and seven digs.
The Pirates had a 3-1 lead in the first set. The Vaqueros scored the next four points as part of an 8-1 run, capped by a Key kill, to go up 9-4. The Pirates got as two twice, including at 16-18 before the Vaqueros went on a 6-1 run, including back-to-back aces by Emiliano to put an exclamation point on the run and push the set out of reach.
The Pirates led 4-3 in the second set before a Key killed sparked a 4-0 run to give the Vaqueros the lead. Then, with the Vaqueros’ lead cut to 7-6, the Vaqueros went on a 7-1 run, capped by a Cruz kill, to go up 14-7. The Vaqueros pushed their lead to 18-10 on another Cruz kill. The Vaqueros went up 19-11 on a kill by junior Yasmim Da Silva. The Pirates responded with an 8-3 run to pull within 19-22. Then, with the score 23-20, an error gave the Vaqueros set point and a Key kill ended the set.
The Vaqueros jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the third set on a Santos kill. The Vaqueros again led by two at 4-2. The set tightened up from there, with the Vaqueros regaining their two-point lead at 13-11 on an error. Then, with the score tied at 14, The Vaqueros went on an 11-3 run, capped by a Cruz kill, to end the match.
