Eight days after dropping the first meeting of the South Texas Showdown against rival Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, UTRGV got its revenge on the Islanders by winning Wednesday’s home opener in front of a record-breaking crowd 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-19).
“It was awesome; we knew it was going to be a big crowd but we didn’t know it was going to be this good,” Head Coach Todd Lowery said. “I think the girls just fed off of it all night long and we were able to sustain the energy the whole night. We’ve kind of been up and down with that a little bit, but I think the crowd definitely helped tonight.”
After last week’s 3-1 loss to TAMU-CC, UTRGV played the best volleyball it has early this season, receiving contributions from starters and bench players, veterans and new faces alike.
“They knew they let one slip at their place and didn’t play very well, so the goal tonight was to make sure we came out and played well the entire match,” Lowery said.
The first set started off as a back-and-forth affair between the two rivals, but midway through the set, UTRGV took its game up a level and opened up an 18-11 lead on kills from Bojana Mitrovic, Ragni Steen Knudsen and Barbara Silva. UTRGV’s 12-2 run eventually sealed the deal, winning the first set 25-19.
In set two, the Islanders showed they weren’t going to lie down without a fight. TAMU-CC tied the set at 19, but fell apart over the final six points by committing four errors. Knudsen ended the set by scoring the final two kills.
With momentum in hand, UTRGV jumped out to a commanding 18-12 lead in the final set, but allowed the Islanders to stick around. Leading 22-17, Knudsen scored UTRGV’s next two points on a kill and ace, setting up Mitrovic to put the exclamation mark on the match with a game-winning kill to win the third and final set 25-19.
Mitrovic finished with 11 kills, nine digs and one block while Knudsen had a double-double with 11 kills, 11 digs, one assist and two aces. Barbara Silva contributed six kills and four blocks, and team captain Alexandra Ecker had five kills and two blocks.
While the group of returning starters gave Lowery solid play throughout the match, a trio of new faces had an effective night on the court, consistently making plays and setting teammates up.
Sophomore middle blocker Talita Oliveira, and the freshmen pair of Debora Nazario and Kellie Woodin stepped their game up in front of the home crowd to have impactful performances, leading to UTRGV’s most complete match thus far.
“Overall, I think the packed gym helped us tonight to push through those moments where we struggled,” said Mitrovic, the Preseason WAC Player of the Year. “We knew that people believed in us, that our coaches believed in us and that gave us trust in between each other on the court and I feel that’s one of the things this team needs to build to be successful later on.”
With the win, UTRGV improves to 4-7 on the season while the loss sends TAMU-CC to 3-8. UTRGV holds a 7.5-4.5 lead in the South Texas Showdown standings.
Last year’s WAC Championship team was honored before the game with the unveiling of two banners for the conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
The UTRGV Volleyball team celebrates a point scored during their win over Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Wednesday in the South Texas Showdown and UTRGV’s home opener. UTRGV won the match in front of a record-breaking crowd 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-19) and leads TAMU-CC 7.5-4.5 in the South Texas Showdown standings. Lesley Robles/The Rider Photos
The volleyball team is back in action at 7 p.m. Friday in the UTRGV Fieldhouse as it opens the UTRGV Tournament against the University of the Incarnate Word. It will close out the tournament at 4 p.m. Saturday against Texas Southern University.
