Vaqueros defeated by Lumberjacks

The UTRGV Volleyball Team dropped a home match 3-1 against Stephen F. Austin State University (26-24, 25-19, 25-27, 25-17) during tonight’s Breast Cancer Awareness-themed game in which attendees and players showed their support by wearing pink.

The Vaqueros now hold a record of 14-10 overall and 8-3 in the Western Athletic Conference.

Although the first set was close, the Lumberjacks ultimately took a 26-24 win.

In the following set, Stephen F. Austin quickly took the lead, 10-6, but the Vaqueros narrowed the gap to 15-14. Then they fell behind again, 22-16. The Vaqueros lost the set 25-19, making the score 2-0.

During the beginning of the third set, the Vaqueros stayed closely behind the Jacks, until they finally took the lead, 10-9. The set was even throughout with both teams tying each other until UTRGV finally took a 27-25 win.

A similar story unfolded during the fourth set, with both teams staying narrowly ahead of each other for the first half, but the Jacks gained their third and final set win, 25-17.

Junior outside hitter Perris Key led the Vaqueros, putting up 15 kills, nine digs, three blocks and .345 on hitting.

Head coach Todd Lowery said the team played at a high level throughout the game.

“I think we had a good game plan,” Lowery said. “When we were playing well, we stuck to the game plan really well. … I think we’re closing the gap. Definitely looks a lot better than we did six weeks ago against them.”

Junior outside hitter Claudia Lupescu put up 12 kills, six digs, two blocks and .152 on hitting.

The coach said the team continues to improve.

“We still have three weeks to get better,” he said. “If we continue to get better at this same pace, we’re going to close the gap on [Stephen F. Austin and Grand Canyon University]. I feel like those two teams held a lot of people back and have been playing high-level volleyball all season long.”

Junior setter Luanna Emiliano contributed 44 assists, three aces and nine digs.

Asked about the next game, Lowery replied they wouldn’t let this loss affect the team.

“We’ve got to have short memory,” he said. “I think there’s a lot to take away with our preparation and what we do tomorrow and going into Saturday. How do we mirror what we did after the Grand Canyon loss. … I was proud of the way they bounced back against [Christian Baptist University]. I have every bit of confidence they’re gonna do the same against [the University of Texas at Arlington] on Saturday.”

Outside hitter Lelan Bradley led the Jacks with 15 kills and five blocks.

The Vaqueros have five conference games left until the WAC Tournament and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament start on Nov. 16 and Dec. 1, respectively.

Next up for UTRGV is a home game against the University of Texas at Arlington at 2 p.m. Saturday in the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.