Volleyball Ends Season With Loss in NIVC First Round

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team saw its season come to an end following a 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-13) loss to the Arkansas State (ASU) Red Wolves in the first round of the Women’s National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) Thursday at Shelton Gym.

UTRGV (16-12) had four student-athletes reach double-digit kills and three notched double-doubles in the effort. Sophomore outside hitter Nadine Zech paced the offense with a match-high 17 kills while senior outside hitter Claudia Lupescu added 15 kills and 11 digs for her 13^th double-double and fifth in a row. Senior RS/MB Perris Key matched her season high with 11 kills and had three blocks. Senior outside hitter Ilana De Assis recorded 10 kills with 16 digs and two aces for her 12^th double-double. Sophomore setter Isabella Costantini tabbed 44 assists and 11 digs for her 13^thdouble-double and sophomore libero Celianiz Cabranes had a match-high 22 digs.

Kaitlin Whitlock and Devyn Lewis led Arkansas State (27-5) with 10 kills each. Whitlock added 18 digs for a double-double. Setters Erin Madigan and Valeria Ortiz had 19 assists each and Sarah Martinez recorded 18 digs with three aces. The Red Wolves racked up 13 blocks in the match.

The Vaqueros jumped out to an early lead in the opening set following back-to-back aces from Assis. They played with great energy to battle through competitive rallies and held a slight advantage throughout the frame. The teams swapped scores through the middle points, then UTRGV’s energetic style carried it through the home stretch. After a 4-0 run created a 21-17 advantage, Zech and Key tabbed two kills each to secure the 25-21 win. Key had five kills on an errorless .714 hitting in the frame and Zech added six on .308 hitting.

It was Arkansas State’s turn to take the early lead in the second set. UTRGV evened things up at 11-11 following a pair of slide swings from Key and proceeded to go blow-for-blow with the Red Wolves to 18-18 all. ASU closed strong to take the 25-21 win despite UTRGV fighting off two set points.

Arkansas State controlled the third set behind five blocks and a .303 hitting percentage. The Vaqueros committed five service errors in the frame and had trouble getting the offense on a roll as they tried to work around the block. Lupescu fired up the squad late, pounding four heavy kills, but the Red Wolves took the frame, 25-16.

The Red Wolves rolled to a 25-13 set win in the fourth to secure the win and advance to the Super 16 round of the NIVC. UTRGV, typically a strong serving team, struggled at the service line and committed 15 service errors. The Vaqueros were held to .175 hitting.