VOLLEYBALL EARNS THIRD CONSECUTIVE CONFERENCE SWEEP WITH WIN AT SEATTLE U
SEATTLE, Wash. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team picked up a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-14) win over the Seattle U Redhawks Thursday at the Redhawk Center for their third straight Western Athletic Conference (WAC) sweep.
UTRGV (10-8, 4-1 WAC) was led offensively by junior outside hitter Ilana De Assis, who recorded 14 kills on .382 hitting with nine digs and one ace. Junior right side Perris Key added seven kills, seven digs and four blocks. Senior middle blocker Luisa Silva Dos Santos and junior middle blocker Margherita Giani recorded three blocks each, with Santos adding six kills and Giani contributing four. Junior setter Luanna Emiliano earned her 10th double-double with 34 assists, 13 digs, five kills and one ace. Junior libero Kiaraliz Perez paced a sound defense with 15 digs and had five assists.
Arianna Bilby led Seattle U (5-11, 0-5 WAC) with nine kills, followed by eight from Naima Foster. Katlyn Sipes had 13 digs and Merima Smajlovic added 12.
The Vaqueros used an early 4-0 run capped by a block from Key and Santos to jump on top. Perez and the UTRGV defense was active and impressive, covering the court and passing well on hard-hit balls to keep the offense looking solid. Tough serving from Perez and big kills from Santos helped the Vaqueros open things up midway through the frame, but the Redhawks responded with a 3-0 run and used an ace to snatch the lead at 15-14.
Freshman defensive specialist Isa Bento contributed tough serving to spark a run for the Vaqueros with back-to-back kills from Giani to get back on top, 19-17. After the teams swapped scores on a few rallies, UTRGV closed the set on a 4-0 run with an ace from Emiliano and big production from Key and Santos, who combined for a block and each notched a kill for the 25-22 win.
Assis was very active early in the second, recording back-to-back kills and three straight Vaqueros points to open up an 8-4 lead. With accurate passing and stellar defense leading the way, UTRGV was able to show off an efficient offense and lead by as many as five before a 4-0 Seattle U run forced a timeout. The Vaqueros took the message from the huddle and executed, stringing together three points with kills from Emiliano, junior outside hitter Claudia Lupescu and Santos.
The Redhawks continued to compete, but a rocket kill from Assis made it 18-15 in UTRGV’s favor and turned the tides for good, sparking a 5-0 run. Assis and Giani combined for a block to get to set point, then an attack error secured the set for UTRGV, 25-18.
It was all UTRGV in the third set as the Vaqueros cruised to their third consecutive WAC sweep. A pair of assisted blocks for Giani in addition to two kills helped the Vaqueros open up a 10-4 lead, forcing Seattle U to call timeout. Assis sparked another scoring run with a thunderous kill, leading to the Vaqueros jumping on top, 17-9 following a kill by freshman Harlingen High alum Julianna Bryant. The Redhawks committed a slew of errors as UTRGV dominated the final frame to aid a 25-14 set win.
After the first set saw 11 ties and seven lead changes, the Vaqueros settled in and controlled the next two frames. UTRGV hit .299 and held Seattle U to a .117 hitting percentage and had 54 digs in another impressive defensive effort.
UTRGV will be back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. (CT) at Utah Valley.
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