First conference W, a ‘stepping stone’

Senior right side Valentina Sarti Cipriani spikes the ball against Lamar University during the Wednesday game in the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.
PHOTO COURTESY UTRGV ATHLETICS

The Vaqueros (6-6, 1-0 SLC) began conference play with a 3-0 sweep against Lamar University at home Wednesday, seeking to capitalize on the momentum for the rest of this portion of the schedule, according to a team player.

UTRGV Volleyball head coach Todd Lowery told The Rider that although the team was “up and down” during non-conference play, it has found consistency lately, and it reflects on the court.

“I really like where we’ve kind of been the last two weeks,” Lowery said. “We’ve definitely seen a lot of improvement. A lot of the things that were really causing us fits early on seemed to be kind of getting them under control.”

He added although he knew entering the season with nine new players and integrating them into the game plan would be difficult, the team has done better at clicking in recent games.

Lowery said working on having junior setter Isabella Costantini utilizing the middle of the court has really balanced the team’s offense in recent games as balance can help them in conference play.

“We probably are playing as a balanced offense as we have here in a really long time,” he said. “Just spreading the load and staying healthy, I think, is going to be key. And also, just making it a lot harder for teams to scout us.”

In their sweep over Lamar last week, all parts of their offense clicked, with two outside hitters, freshman Dimitra Nanou and senior Valentina Sarti Cipriani both tallying 11 kills.

A middle-blocker duo stepped up big time in the game, with juniors Aaliyah Snead and Julianna Bryant both setting the tone defensively and tallying 6 and 7 kills a piece.

The match also included come-from-behind wins, falling behind in the second set 5-0 and the third 3-0 before roaring back against the Cardinals to take those sets 25-19 and 25-17 respectively.

Snead said the team was “ecstatic” to begin conference play with a sweep, and it is looking at seizing this momentum and applying it through the end of the season.

“I feel like we’re on top of the world right now,” she said. “I feel like it’s a confidence booster for all the girls, and it’s a stepping stone for the rest of the season. We’re projecting ourselves to go really far during the season.”

Snead added the team is also looking forward to playing and winning against conference rivals, such as Stephen F. Austin State University and Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi.

“We’re looking forward to the rivalries,” she said. “Being able to play against some hard teams and know that we’re going to be able to give it our all and still get the dub.”

UTRGV played its second conference game at home against Stephen F. Austin Saturday. Results were unavailable as of press time.

The team will next play the Northwestern State University of Louisiana Demons at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus. The game will be available to stream via ESPN+.