UTRGV’s volleyball team welcomed the start of a new season tonight by defeating The University of the Incarnate Word 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-14, 25-21).
The first set was a constant battle between the Vaqueras and the Cardinals for the lead. Throughout the first set, there were numerous ties. It was not until the final points of the set that the Cardinals took a two-point lead over UTRGV, resulting in a 26-24 first set victory for the Cardinals.
After the loss of the first set, the Vaqueras picked up the momentum in the second set. The biggest lead for UTRGV was 22-14. The Cardinals quickly caught up and reduced the lead for the Vaqueras to 23-19. From there, UTRGV got back into play and sealed the victory of the second set, 25-20.
In the second set, the Vaqueras showed what they were capable of. It was a constant tie between both teams, but halfway through the second set, UTRGV decided to break off from the tie. Leaving the Cardinals at 13, the Vaqueras now led the set at 17. From there, UTRGV continued to dominate and closed the set with a 25-14 win.
The fourth and final set was a do or die for UTRGV. The Vaqueras knew they had to end the match in this set. UTRGV was down 5-6, but that did not stop libero Gysell Zayas from trying to save the ball not once, but twice.
Zayas was so determined to obtain the point for the team that she went as far as trampling over chairs and saving the ball for UTRGV. She said she was not thinking about the chairs, she was just going for the ball.
“There’s a ball, I need to get after it,” Zayas said. “This is my job and this is my chance. I went for it, dove, I mean there’s bumps and bruises on my legs, but it’s OK.”
The set continued at a tie, but the Vaqueras pulled away with a 22-16 lead. Shortly after, the Vaqueras captured a 25-21 victory.
Head Coach Todd Lowery said he is glad the team played the way it did in the non-conference match.
“Incarnate Word has always been a team that we haven’t played remarkably well against for the last four years, so it’s kind of nice to get them down here,” Lowery said. “I thought we played really well at times. I thought we did the things we needed to do at the end of the set to win.”
Leading the team were outside hitters Ragni Steen Knudsen with 14 kills and eight digs and Antonela Jularic with 12 kills and nine digs. Right side hitter Barbara Silva posted 10 kills and 12 digs, and Gysell Zayas had 28 digs.
The Vaqueras (5-3 overall) will play their next game at 3 p.m. Friday at the Baylor University Classic in Waco against Rice University and 11 a.m. Saturday against Baylor University.
