Daniela Chapa-Reyes 
Jose Rodriguez/THE RIDER
The UTRGV Volleyball Team (16-7, 11-1 SLC) upped its winning streak to nine games after defeating Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (9-15, 5-7 SLC) 3-1 during the South Texas Showdown at the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.
The team won Saturday 3-2 against TAMUCC in Corpus Christi at the South Texas Showdown.
Head coach Todd Lowery said it is awesome to keep the streak alive after Thursday’s game.
“The big thing that we have talked about, since we probably had the first one of these back in August when we were here with [University of Texas El Paso], is how do we continue to get better?” Lowery said. “We saw some special things out of us tonight, that the girls have been working hard.”
Junior middle blocker and Harlingen-native Julianna Bryant was able to mark 13 kills on .667 hitting with three blocks. Bryant said the streak is “just another number.”
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“Of course we did great and we won, so of course that streak is there but it really doesn’t mean anything … anyone can do that,” she said. “It is just what we continue to do. We go back, we watch ourselves, see what else we got to improve for the next game and just show that we are able to work through those mistakes that we had and … just come back even stronger.”
The first set of the night was off to a great start as junior setter Isabella Constantini was the first up to serve. The Islanders were quick to make the first point of the set after an intense battle between the teams.
After a quick back and forth, the Vaqueros were set off to continue getting those points in. Both teams were eager to score, however, UTRGV was able to close out the set 25-13.
As the second set was off to a start, the Vaqueros were quick to lead almost immediately after starting off the set with the first point. From there, the Islanders struggled to keep up with the home team.
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With TAMUCC initially falling behind, that was what brought in the momentum to eventually tie up the score 19-19, the pressure intensifying to see who would be the first to bring the score to the golden 25.
UTRGV went on to win the set 25-23. The team led with 37 kills at .473 hitting and 38 digs. The Islanders were only 10 kills behind with a hitting of .297 at only 33 digs.
However, TAMUCC was quick to apply immense pressure to UTRGV after winning the third set of the night 19-25. The set was showcasing the power both teams had, however, the Vaqueros were falling into the pressure.
To close off the game, the teams were fighting hard, keeping the score only a couple of points distance at a time. With the score being 18-17, UTRGV started celebrating early during the unfinished play, but were able to succeed in preventing the point from the Islanders and bring the score to 19-17.
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With back-to-back points from each team, the ever intense game continued to bring pressure felt throughout the whole Fieldhouse as the crowd anxiously waited to see who would close out the set with the win.
The Vaqueros were able to dominate the Islanders in the final set, bringing the score to 25-23.
Lowery said being in difficult moments is good for the team.
“It is a lot easier to walk out of here and be in those moments with a win than it is a loss,” he said. “Moments like tonight where we face some difficulty is ultimately good for our growth.”
The Vaqueros will next face the University of the Incarnate Word on Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the Edinburg Campus.
Jose Rodriguez/THE RIDER
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