Volleyball Defeated By Islanders in Thrilling South Texas Showdown

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team was defeated by the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (AMCC) Islanders on Tuesday, 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 15-13), in a South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, match at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

UTRGV (6-8, 2-2 Southland Conference) had four student-athletes with double-doubles and five with double-digit kills in the extremely competitive match. Senior outside hitter Ilana De Assis led the pack with 22 kills and had 14 digs for her sixth double-double. Sophomore setter Isabella Costantini nearly had a triple-double behind her incredible effort that sparked UTRGV. Costantini recorded a career-high 66 assists – which is the eighth-most in a single match in program history – and had 11 digs and a career-high seven kills on .636 hitting as she scored on smart second touch points. This was the fifth double-double for Costantini.

Senior outside hitter Claudia Lupescu had 18 kills on .350 hitting and a career-high 17 digs in her fifth double-double. Sophomore Nadine Zech added 13 kills and 10 digs, earning her fifth double-double and second in a row. Senior right side Perris Key tallied season-highs with 10 kills and five blocks and sophomore Brownsville Veterans Memorial alum Elise Fourt added a career-high 11 kills on .500 hitting with two blocks. Sophomore libero Celianiz Cabranes tallied a match-high 25 digs.

The Islanders (7-8, 2-2 SLC) were led by Kyndal Payne and Leah Stolfus who had 15 kills each, with Stolfus hitting .538 in the match. Payne added 13 digs and five blocks. Setter Alex Hoglund dished out 54 assists with 11 digs and Kendall Mahaney tabbed 23 digs.

The trend of tight and exciting contests between these squads continued from the first serve of this one. The teams swapped three- and four-point scoring runs through the midway point of the first set. UTRGV found success reading Corpus’ defense and putting down off-speed and second touch kills to take a 13-10 lead.

The Islanders came right back to take a 21-18 lead late in the frame, forcing a Vaqueros timeout. UTRGV came out of the break strong, and behind the booming swings of Assis and Zech, the Vaqueros reclaimed the lead. Assis blasted a kill from the right side to secure the set for UTRGV, 25-23.

AMCC evened the match in the second with a 25-22 set win. The Islanders jumped on top early and never trailed in the frame, though UTRGV was able to pull even a few times. Trailing 20-15, Costantini used all the tools in her arsenal and let a variety of arms swing, helping the Vaqueros cut the deficit to two, but the Islanders held on.

The third set was thrilling from start to finish as both teams battled to gain advantage in the match. Corpus got its block going early, aiding a 14-10 lead as the Vaqueros were stuck on their heels. UTRGV responded with a key 5-0 run as the big three of Assis, Lupescu and Zech were sharp offensively. The scoring run included a highlight-worthy, 45 second rally that was capped by a solo block for Assis.

Assis was fired up after the play and turned that momentum into four consecutive kills to put UTRGV on top, 21-18. The Islanders didn’t go down quietly and evened things up at 23-23, but a smart second-touch dump kill from Costantini and another massive swing from Assis won the set for the Vaqueros, giving them the 2-1 match lead.

The Islanders forced an early timeout in the fourth as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead before the Vaqueros settled in and the match returned to its back-and-forth nature. But Corpus leaned on its block and efficient play from the middle to get on a roll midway through, going up 20-13 for the largest lead of the match for either team. UTRGV showed good fight down the stretch behind massive swings from Lupescu, but AMCC held on to win it, 25-19, and force a deciding fifth set.

In the sprint to 15, rallies were marathons as the well-acquainted teams left it all on the court. UTRGV’s middles were sharp to start, accounting for four kills on the first eight Vaqueros points. But the Islanders were leading at the midway changeover and went up 11-7.

UTRGV showed great fight to close the gap. Lupescu ripped kills from the outside, then an ace from Assis got the Vaqueros within one. Key fought off one match point with a nice swing up the middle, but Corpus took the set, 15-13, on a kill from Stolfus.

The Vaqueros will face Northwestern State at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Visit UTRGVTickets.com to purchase tickets for Vaqueros volleyball matches. UTRGV Athletics has a clear bag policy which will be enforced for spectators attending all athletic events hosted by UTRGV.