Vaqueros claim win

_{UTRGV libero Sydney Schoen bumps the ball to outside hitter Ada Bulgur (left) for a setup during Tuesday night’s game against Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus. JOSE MEDINA/THE RIDER PHOTOS}

The first volleyball home game became another win for UTRGV after it beat the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Islanders 3-2 Tuesday night.

The first set “set” the tone for the rest of the game. It was a hard-fought battle between both teams as the lead switched constantly but, ultimately, UTRGV came out on top with a 25-23 win.

_{UTRGV outside hitter Ada Bulgur blocks a hit from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Faith Panhans during Tuesday night’s game in the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus. The Vaqueros won 3-2.}

The second set came down to the wire with the Islanders breaking a 24-24 tie for the win.

UTRGV outside hitter Sarah Cruz helped her team reach its 3-1 record while achieving a career-high 30 kills on .393 hitting, 18 digs, two aces and three blocks.

Cruz said she was amazed to hear there were over 1,900 people in attendance at the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.

“That’s insane,” she said. “We could really feel the energy that people had off the court. … Even though we were losing and went to the fourth set and were on the spot … they supported us throughout the whole game.”

Even more decisive was the third set, when both teams traded the lead until the Islanders took the 33-31 win. The set broke the program record for highest-scoring set, beating the previous 31-29 record at Stephen F. Austin University, according to a news release from the UTRGV Athletics department.

*_{UTRGV middle blocker Margherita Giani prepares to spike the ball during Tuesday night’s game against Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.}*

Asked about the third set, UTRGV Volleyball head coach Todd Lowery replied he did not want to kill the momentum and “just let them play.”

“I thought it was really good volleyball through the whole set,” Lowery said.

The fourth set started off close, too. However, midway through, UTRGV started to create a bigger gap and ended up winning 25-17.

UTRGV setter Luanna Emiliano also achieved a career-high 72 assists while also tallying 17 digs, two aces and two kills on .667 hitting.

It also became apparent who was going to win halfway through the fifth set, with UTRGV taking a lead and beating the Islanders 15-9.

The Islanders came out with 78 total kills, with Kyndal Payne leading them with 16 kills.

Leah Stolfus followed with 15 kills and .414 on hitting.

UTRGV had a massive outpour of support with 1,937 fans attending, the second-largest crowd in program history, according to the news release.

“Can’t say enough about a Tuesday night crowd of 1,900 people,” Lowery said. “A super-engaged 1,900. I think it was fun and those that showed up for a match tonight, I think they see how fun this team is going to be to watch.”

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