Volleyball breaks out the brooms against McNeese
The UTRGV Women’s Volleyball Team (11-8, 7-2 Southland) dominated the McNeese State University Cowgirls (7-14, 3-6 Southland) in a 3-0 sweep at the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.
UTRGV Volleyball head coach Todd Lowery told the media after the game his team played well “for the most part.”
“We have this tendency right now to just relax,” Lowery said. “I thought we were able to bounce back at the end of set two and get out of there with a lucky set win.”
Today’s game was Kid’s Day at the Fieldhouse, where groups of elementary and middle school students from across the Rio Grande Valley were invited to attend.
Final attendance for the game was announced at 2,627, good for the second-highest in program history. Lowery attributed the crowd as a factor in UTRGV’s first set win.
Sophomore setter Isabella “Tini” Costantini tallied 41 assists in the sweep. She stands at the top of the program leaderboard in assists per set in a single season (11.08).
Lowery praised Costantini after the game for her hard work and development as a player since she arrived at UTRGV.
“She’s a kid who’s worked extremely hard and bought into what we’re trying to do here,” he said. “I think she wants to win, and I think she takes it really serious about what’s going on outside of the skill of setting.”
The Vaqueros opened the match on a torrid pace, starting the first set by going on a 9-3 run. Although the Cowgirls attempted to keep it within six, UTRGV dominated the rest of the set and took it 25-13, making it 1-0.
After falling in the first set, McNeese drew first blood in the second and started 6-4. The Vaqueros came back, going on a 6-2 run, taking the set lead 13-8. The Cowgirls went on a run of their own to take a 18-16 lead.
UTRGV promptly tied at 19-19 and again at 23-23, the second by way of a Costantini ace. The Vaqueros then took the next two points to win the set 25-23 and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
UTRGV and McNeese opened the third set by trading blows in a 4-4 start. The Vaqueros then went on a 4-0 run to take an 8-4 lead, with the eight point being an intense back-and-forth duel.
After taking a 21-12 lead, the Cowgirls went on a 6-0 run to stay alive in the match and bring it close at 21-18. Following this, the Vaqueros closed it out to stop the bleeding, winning the third and final set 25-23 on an ace by sophomore outside hitter Perris Key.
The Vaqueros play their next match at 2 p.m. Saturday at home against the Nicholls State University Colonels. Fans can stream the match on ESPN+ and Southland International.
