Volleyball Falls in South Texas Showdown

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team fell 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20) Thursday to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (AMCC) Islanders in the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, at the Dugan Wellness Center.

UTRGV (12-9, 8-3 SLC) had four hitters in double-digit kills as sophomore setter Isabella Costantini dished out 50 assists with 10 digs in her seventh double-double. Senior outside hitter Ilana De Assis led all hitters with 20 kills and had 13 digs for her eighth double-double. Senior outside hitter Claudia Lupescu added 15 kills with 13 digs for seventh double-double, and sophomore outside hitter Nadine Zech tallied 12 kills. Senior right side Perris Key contributed 10 kills and two blocks. Sophomore libero Celianiz Cabranes had a match-high 23 digs and junior Sharyland Pioneer alum Natalie Reyes served three aces.

Kyndal Payne led AMCC (14-8, 9-2 SLC) with 19 kills while Tori Arrington added 14 on .371 hitting. Alex Hoglund recorded 42 assists and Brooklyn Jaeger tallied 22 digs.

The opening set saw both teams go on early scoring runs before settling in and becoming a back-and-forth affair. Trailing 11-6, the Vaqueros used an effective timeout to respond with a 5-0 run to knot up the set. Assis dropped three of her seven first-set kills in the stretch while Reyes served tough to get the Islanders out of system with an ace. UTRGV fell behind by four and responded well again as Lupescu and Assis put down hard hits to earn the first set point, up 24-23. AMCC closed the frame on a run to win it, 26-24.

After playing from behind for most of the first set, UTRGV came out hot in the second and never looked back. The efficient Vaqueros offense got the Islanders out of rhythm and they went up 11-4 after a kill on an overpass by senior right side Perris Key. The Islanders got within four before UTRGV settled in, serving hard, playing sound defense, and putting hard hits down. UTRGV had three blocks in the set and frequent touches on the net, slowing down the AMCC offense. The Vaqueros knotted the match with a 25-21 set win.

Momentum shifted early and often in the third set. UTRGV went on a 5-0 run as the senior captains, Lupescu and Key, set the tone, giving the Vaqueros a six point lead. AMCC got hot and starting stringing points together midway through the frame, taking an 18-16 lead and riding its crisp attack to a 25-21 set win.

Both teams came out sharp in the fourth, swapping scores as they ripped kills and got good passing from the liberos. The Islanders held a one-point lead at the media timeout, but good swings from the edge pins and attack errors from the opponent helped UTRGV even things up at 18-18. But AMCC closed the match strong to take the set 25-20 and secure the South Texas Showdown sweep.

UTRGV picked up the volleyball attendance point, drawing 1,314 fans to 485 at Corpus. The Islanders lead the showdown, 6-4.

UTRGV’s next match is at 11 a.m. Saturday at Lamar.