The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Volleyball Team fell 3-1 Thursday night against Grand Canyon University in the WAC home opener in the Fieldhouse.
GCU was leading 10-7 when the Vaqueras turned over the first set to finish 26-24.
UTRGV tried to maintain the momentum during the second set, but GCU was consecutively ahead of the game.
UTRGV Head Coach Todd Lowery believes the team played well but lacked confidence at key points in the game.
“I felt like we wavered a little bit just in our confidence in the biggest moments and that was the difference,” Lowery said. “Overall, I think we played really well. We miss a serve and they get a ball. We get blocked and they get a point. It’s kind of just been the story of our season.”
With a close ending in the last two sets (25-23, 29-27), GCU Head Coach Tim Nollan was satisfied with the outcome.
“I’m glad we won,” Nollan said. “It was a highly competitive match, 29-27 in the fourth. We gotta rest up now and get ready to travel.”
Nonetheless, the goal for UTRGV is to improve.
“The key for us is to keep getting better and for the girls to believe in themselves,” Lowery said. “Once you start winning, then it becomes contagious. When you doubt yourself, then you get a team that doesn’t necessarily play overall confident.”
With 11 kills and 17 total attempts, junior middle blocker Veronika Jandova was grateful for the fans.
“I wanna say thank you to everyone who came and supported us,” Jandova said. “It means a lot. The crowd is always amazing.”
Fans showed their support by wearing pink to tonight’s “BelieVe in a Cure” match, in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“It makes me feel good,” Jandova said. “It feels like there’s someone behind me, supporting me. It’s nice.”
UTRGV will face off against California State University, Bakersfield at noon Saturday in the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.
