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RIO GRANDE VALLEY\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The legend of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball head coach\u00a0Todd Lowery<\/a>\u00a0grew a little more Thursday as his Vaqueros captured an electric 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24) victory over the UIW Cardinals in a Southland Conference (SLC) match in front of 1,047 fans at the UTRGV Fieldhouse for his 600th\u00a0career win.\u00a0 Support UTRGV Volleyball<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Become a Fan on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on Twitter<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on YouTube<\/a> Read Full Article
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\nThe victory extends UTRGV’s (17-7, 12-1 SLC) streak to 11 matches, which ties the program record for most consecutive wins. Sophomore outside hitter\u00a0Martina Franco<\/a>\u00a0paced the offense with 20 kills and had 15 digs for her fourth double-double. Freshman outside hitter\u00a0Dimitra Nanou<\/a>\u00a0had another huge match, recording 19 kills with nine digs and two aces. Senior right side\u00a0Valentina Sarti Cipriani<\/a>\u00a0added 11 kills and had three blocks. Junior middle blocker\u00a0Aaliyah Snead<\/a>\u00a0tabbed a career-high tying six blocks. Junior setter\u00a0Isabella Costantini<\/a>\u00a0had her seventh double-double with 52 assists, 15 digs, three aces and three kills. Junior libero\u00a0Celianiz Cabranes<\/a>\u00a0finished with 27 digs and three assists.\u00a0
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\nFour UIW (13-12, 9-4 SLC) players reached double-digit kills.\u00a0Kyla Malone\u00a0had 19 kills on .375 hitting,\u00a0Finley Evans\u00a0and\u00a0Kitana Tu’ufuli\u00a0had 11 each, and\u00a0Vanessa Eregie\u00a0added 10. Evans and Tu’ufuli had double-doubles as they added 13 and 17 digs, respectively.\u00a0Ashton Rogers\u00a0had 23 digs and nine assists and\u00a0Calissa Allison\u00a0totaled 44 assists with 17 digs.\u00a0
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\nThe first set was an outright battle from the first serve. The Cardinals opened an early three-point lead, but the Vaqueros rallied back with sharp hitting and took an 11-9 lead as Nanou mixed her power and off-speed touch and Costantini served an ace. UIW evened things up at 20-20 as its offense picked up steam, then both teams played determined defense to treat fans to long, exciting rallies as they exchanged scores.\u00a0
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\nUTRGV got to set point as redshirt sophomore Harlingen High alum\u00a0Julianna Bryant<\/a>\u00a0won a joust on the net, but the Cardinals took back-to-back points to once again knot the set at 24-24. Nanou recorded her ninth kill of the frame to give the edge back to the Vaqueros, and a big block by Snead and Costantini secured the set win, 26-24.\u00a0\u00a0
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\nSet 2 started with a similar script as the Cardinals jumped out to a 5-1 lead. The Vaqueros responded with six unanswered points and got on a roll as the block was active and the heavy-hitting duo of Franco and Nanou smartly mixed their cut shots and tips to get on top, 14-11.\u00a0
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\nRallies continued to lengthen as both defenses were playing fast as the teams battled in the second half of the frame. The Cardinals used a 3-0 run and a lot of swings from Tu’ufuli to build up a 21-19 lead. UTRGV answered again as Franco found the deep corner and the Cardinals committed back-to-back attack errors, giving the Vaqueros a 23-22 advantage and forcing a UIW timeout. The Cardinals closed the frame with a block and an ace to tie the set at 1-1 with a 25-23 second set.\u00a0\u00a0
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\nIt was UTRGV’s turn to start strong in the third, and it was helped by some unforced UIW errors. Costantini made a highlight-worthy play on a tight serve-receive, dumping the second touch over behind her head for the kill to keep things tied at 9-9. The Cardinals used a good block and a gritty back row defense to limit UTRGV’s usually efficient offense and opened up a 17-14 lead following a block.\u00a0
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\nFranco was the catalyst of the comeback late in the third set. She was soaring on her approach, leading to her putting down booming kills and send the Cardinals scrambling. Costantini served an ace to give the Vaqueros a lead late, then Franco powered through the double block to reach set point. A Cardinals error secured the 25-23 set win, putting UTRGV up 2-1 in the match.\u00a0
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\nSet 4 was electric as the teams went back-and-forth in the crucial frame. Snead\u00a0got in the mix to spark the Vaqueros early, putting down a sharp-angled kill and scoring on the slide. The Cardinals found success with the off-speed attack, putting down tips to even the set at 10-10 and then to open up a 19-15 lead. Cipriani upped her production in the fourth and used a tip behind the block to ignite a run for the Vaqueros. Junior defensive specialist\u00a0Isa Bento<\/a>\u00a0served an ace and Franco ripped back-to-back kills to the center of the court to bring the match to a 19-19 tie after UIW had opened a four-point lead, forcing a Cardinals timeout.\u00a0
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\nUTRGV’s scoring run continued as Bento recorded a second ace and her tough serve forced the Cardinals to an attack error, building a 21-19 lead after six unanswered points. Costantini and Bryant combined for a massive block that sent the home crowd into a frenzy and put the Vaqueros two points away.\u00a0
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\nUIW didn’t go down quietly and cut the deficit to one before a service error got the Vaqueros to match point at 24-22. The Cardinals fought off two match points and brought the set to 24-24 before Nanou launched a determined kill that ricocheted back across the net to reach match point again at 25-24. A UIW attack error sealed UTRGV’s win.\u00a0
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\nThe Vaqueros will play the last home match of the regular season Saturday at 12 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse against Houston Christian University. Fans can purchase tickets at\u00a0UTRGVTickets.com<\/a>. Students get in free with a valid student ID but will need to claim a ticket at\u00a0GoUTRGV.com\/StudentTickets<\/a>. A\u00a0clear bag policy<\/a>\u00a0is in place for all UTRGV Athletics venues. The match is themed as Honoring Our Veterans and veterans will receive free admission with a valid ID.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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