Islanders outlast UTRGV in five sets
The UTRGV Volleyball Team lost 3-2 tonight to the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Islanders in a prolonged five-set match in the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.
The Vaqueros drop to 6-8 overall and 2-2 in the Southland Conference, while the Islanders improve to 7-8 and 2-2 in the SLC. UTRGV has yet to win a game in the Fieldhouse this season.
UTRGV Volleyball head coach Todd Lowery said after the game the team needs to be more “disciplined” in close games such as tonight’s.
“We have to challenge other teams to hit the ball in the biggest moments like they’re challenging us to hit the ball in the biggest moments,” Lowery said. “We just gotta do a better job of converting their tips and rolls.”
Sophomore setter Isabella Constantini set the tone for the Vaqueros offense, tallying a team-high 66 assists, while Islanders senior outside hitter Kyndal Payne was contained to .123 hitting, though she totaled 15 kills.
The first set of the match was a nail-biter, with the lead growing to no greater than three for either team. After falling behind 22-20, the Vaqueros went on a 5-1 run to take the set 25-23, and a 1-0 lead in the game overall.
The Islanders got off to a fast start in the second set, promptly taking a 5-2 lead. UTRGV stayed in the set to tie it at 9 all. Corpus quickly regained the lead and grew it to as big as 21-16.
The Vaqueros brought it to within two, but the Islanders tied the game 1-1 by taking the second set 25-22.
Following a 4-2 start for UTRGV, the Islanders clawed back and both teams found themselves in an intense duel with multiple lead changes for both squads. They then went on a run to take a 14-10 lead.
A 7-1 run by the Vaqueros gave them a 17-15 lead, after which the Islanders tied it at 17. More back and forth saw a 23-23 tie in the set, which UTRGV took 25-23 to take a 2-1 lead overall.
The fourth set began with the Islanders taking a quick 5-1 lead. UTRGV kept pace to tie it at 6, 8 and 10 all. A dominating run by Corpus saw them take the fourth set 25-19 to tie the game at two sets a piece.
The final set began as a tense one, quickly going to a 5-5 tie. The Islanders then took over, going on a 10-8 run to take the final set 15-13 and ending the match in a 3-2 Vaqueros defeat.
The UTRGV Volleyball Team will seek to win its first home game at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Fieldhouse against the Northwestern State University Demons (6-6, 1-2 SLC).
