Utah Valley sweeps UTRGV

*_{UTRGV outside hitter Sarah Cruz spikes the ball during tonight’s game against Utah Valley University in the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus. The Vaqueras fell to UVU 3-0.}*_{MATTHEW GONZALEZ/THE RIDER PHOTOS}

Tonight, the UTRGV Volleyball Team’s season came to an end in the Fieldhouse after losing to two-time defending Western Athletic Conference champions Utah Valley University in the sixth match of the WAC Tournament.

In a 1,204-person, crowd-pumping first set, the Wolverines ended the set 25-22 bringing the score to 1-0.

“I didn’t think we did enough to win to be honest with you,” head coach Todd Lowery said. “I thought we played a little bit loose, especially in set one and two. I thought that we were just hesitant, you know, [with] a lot of balls that haven’t been falling lately and a lot of miscommunication calls in between people.”

While no team had control of the second set, UVU surged ahead at the end and ended the set 25-19, bringing the match to 2-0.

“I love it here and, I mean, it hurts right now,” Lowery said. “And there’s some tears in that locker room over there. But there’s a whole bunch of high character kids in there. And for me, at this point in my career, that’s what’s important. I mean, I’ll take this group of kids at two and 25. The same way I take them at 25 and two because they work. They love it. I mean, they’re sad because they care, you know.”

_{Sophomore setter Luana Emilliano jumps to bump the ball back to Utah Valley University, while junior middle blocker Luisa Silva Dos Santos looks on, during tonight’s game in the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.}

In a change of pace, UTRGV gained control of the third set with a wide point gap but Utah gained momentum and ended the set 27-25, ending the game 3-0.

“I think volleyball is a momentum sport,” Lowery said. “Everybody’s competitive and athletic and can fight back. We had a big lead, and then we missed a serve, and they scored a couple points. And then, like I said, we took a timeout, and I thought we came out. We responded, got right back, and then they got on a service run again without any timeouts or anything else. We just haven’t really found a way to stop the momentum. And, you know, that’s been a tough rotation for us.”

He said he had fun coaching the team.

“I’ve been fortunate,” Lowery said. “You know, a handful of national championships, conference titles [and] tournament titles. … This is honestly one of the funnest groups I’ve ever got to coach.

“I’ve gotten to coach this group of girls, and what they’ve meant to turn this program around, I mean, it wasn’t very long ago we were sitting here coming off a two-win season. And for kids to believe and to buy in like, that’s hard stuff to bounce back. I couldn’t be more happy for them and I said it’s been as fun as I could say.”

The championship match of the WAC Tournament will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday in the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus. For more information visit goutrgv.com.

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