Volleyball uses big finish to win at Texas A&M-Commerce

TRADE – The old sports motto “It doesn’t matter how you start, it matters how you finish” proved very true on Saturday as the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team came from behind in the Southland Conference (SLC) victory over the Texas A&M-Commerce (AMC) Lions, 3-1 (18-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-16) at The Field House in Commerce.

UTRGV (10-8, 6-2 SLC) overturned a slow start and finished the game with a 10-0 run to secure its fourth straight win. Second-year libero Celianiz Cabranes posted a career-high 32 digs with four assists and three aces as her late serve helped the Vaqueros win.

Older outside attacker Claudia Lupescu had 16 kills, senior outside hitter Ilana De Assis added 15 kills with nine digs and an outside hitter as a sophomore Nadine Zech had 12 kills on .333 hitting and eight attacks. Sophomore setter Isabella Costantini recorded 43 assists, three aces and five digs. Junior Sharyland Pioneer alum Natalie Reyes With four aces in the match she reached the peak of her career.

The Lions (6-15, 3-6 SLC) were led with 14 kills Kitana Tuufuli. Ellie Baumert tabbed 25 assists and Jade Smith had 25 excavations.

It was a tale of two sets as the second leg between the Vaqueros and the Lions began on Saturday. Both teams came out of the game strong and never lost their lead. AMC won the first set 25-18 and UTRGV took the second set 25-13. The Lions led by as many as nine points at 22-13 as UTRGV struggled to shake off a slow start. Passing issues forced the Vaqueros out of the system and caused them to struggle on defense – Cabranes scored 13 tackles in the first frame. The Vaqueros found some rhythm as they made a late push, but the hole was too deep.

UTRGV capitalized on the momentum built at the end of the first set and opened the second set with a 4-0 run featuring two aces from Costantini. The Vaqueros tallied five aces in the frame and the hard serve slowed the Lions. UTRGV’s offense, however, was outstanding in the set. The Vaqueros hit .556 and made just one attack error on 18 attempts, tying the score. Lupescu led the way with four kills, while Costantini used more weapons.

The third set was more even. The Lions jumped on top first, but a pair of aces during a good service stretch from Reyes helped spark a 5-0 run that gave UTRGV a 6-3 lead after the first lead change of the game. The teams traded small scoring runs and the set became close with UTRGV holding a lead, then an offensive flurry increased the lead to five at the halftime break. Zech got hot in the frame, recording five kills, including the set winner, to secure the 2-1 lead at 25-19. Cabranes was strong defensively, moving quickly and passing effectively to help the Vaqueros take control.

The fourth set went back and forth in the first half of the game, with the teams tied at 10-10 before the Lions went on the first scoring run to take a two-point lead. Reyes’ fourth ace, matching her career single-game high set a week ago against the same team, evened the score at 13-13. Cabranes delivered an incredible serving performance late in the game, sparking a 10-0 run in which she scored two aces and Lupescu took control offensively. UTRGV built a 23-15 lead behind the sophomore libero and secured the 3-1 victory with a 25-16 set.

The Vaqueros return to UTRGV Fieldhouse for two games next week, starting with a noon school day game presented by Whataburger on Thursday against McNeese.

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