Volleyball Leans on Bench in Sweep of New Orleans

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team leaned on its bench Thursday to capture a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-19) Southland Conference (SLC) sweep over the New Orleans (UNO) Privateers at the Human Performance Center.

UTRGV (14-9, 10-3 SLC) saw 10 different players tally at least one kill in the match as 14 student-athletes took the court. Sophomore outside hitter Nadine Zech had a match-high 14 kills with four digs. Senior right side Perris Key recorded eight kills on .538 hitting with one ace. Sophomore outside/right side Roslyn Guerra matched her career high with seven kills on .545 hitting with two digs. Sophomore setter Isabella Costantini tallied 34 assists and 10 digs, earning her third consecutive double-double, while serving four aces and recording two kills. Sophomore libero Celianiz Cabranes had a match-high 19 digs.

Courtney Roundtree led New Orleans (2-23, 0-13 SLC) with nine kills while Chelsea Daffin added seven kills and 10 digs. Alexis Belarmino had 14 assists.

Costantini set the tone early for UTRGV, serving two aces as the Vaqueros went up by four. But the Privateers went on a 5-0 run with help from some attack errors by UTRGV. The Vaqueros responded with a run of their own and quickly took control of the set, jumping on top by seven as Key served well and the offense put down kills with ease. New Orleans closed the gap a little late, but the Vaqueros were able to take the set, 25-17, as sophomore right side Jasmine Allen came off the bench and provided a big spark, putting down three kills including the set winner.

The second set followed a similar story. Senior outside hitter Ingridy Nicoleti Foltran served back-to-back aces to put UTRGV on top, 10-5, and the lead quickly grew to nine. The teams played long, scrappy rallies as head coach Todd Lowery emptied the bench to give his roster experience. Guerra stopped a couple of UNO runs and secured the 2-0 lead, winning the second set 25-19.

Guerra stayed hot to put UTRGV in control early in the third. Costantini served her fourth ace of the match, growing her season total to 40, to make it 13-8 in favor of the Vaqueros. The Privateers showed their fight to get within two points of the lead and went blow-for-blow with UTRGV for some time. Guerra and sophomore defensive specialist Isa Bento were strong down the stretch and the Vaqueros held off the rally, winning the match on a second-touch kill by Costantini at 25-19.

The Vaqueros will play their final road match of the regular season Saturday at 12 p.m. at Southeastern Louisiana.