UTRGV junior defensive specialist Paulina Ramirez (right) goes for a dig to keep the Islanders from scoring during the second set of tonight’s home opener. Also shown is freshman outside hitter Ioanna Charitonidi.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Volleyball team fell 0-3 (20-25, 22-25, 24-26) in its home opener tonight against Texas A&M Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown held at the Fieldhouse.
TAMUCC took a 7-0 lead in the first set of the match. UTRGV began to gain momentum and shortened the Islanders lead 6-8. The visiting team once again grasped a 17-12 lead and maintained the lead until the end of the set, finishing 25-20 in favor of the Islanders.
In the second set, UTRGV maintained a 3-3 tie with Corpus Christi, but the Islanders surfed away into a 17-8 lead. UTRGV roped its way back into the game after junior middle blocker Veronika Jandova made three kills and a block, which helped the team reach a 19-19 tie. The home team then took the reins of the game with a 21-20 lead but was short of a second set victory after the Islanders came back and won 25-22.
The third set was a close one for UTRGV. The team maintained the set tied 8-8, but Corpus Christi came back to take a 15-11 lead. Later on, junior outside hitter Sarah Cruz made a kill and helped UTRGV take the lead 20-19.
UTRGV maintained the lead until the scoreboard reached 22-21. The Islanders came back and tied the set 24-24. In the end, TAMUCC took the final set 26-24.
“I think the big thing is we didn’t execute what we were supposed to do, and we just didn’t follow the game plan,” Head Coach Todd Lowery said.
UTRGV is back in action at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday at the UTRGV Tournament against Texas Southern University and Washington State University.
