Vaqueros volleyball defeats SFA after a decade

In front of a home crowd, the Vaqueros defeated Stephen F. Austin 3-1 Thursday night, making the monumental game the first victory over the Ladyjacks since 2016 and the 200th win for head coach Todd Lowery.

“I’ve been here a long time or we’ve done some good things, and I mean, that 200 goes to a whole handful of girls that have believed in what we do here, and have stuck around and made this a special place,” Lowery said about his 200th win.

The Vaqueros volleyball team has a long history with the Ladyjacks, taking about a decade to beat them. The last time UTRGV defeated SFA was on Sept. 10, 2016, in Lubbock.

“I think the things that we talked about early on in preseason, through the struggles, through the ups and downs, I think they’re just starting to believe more and more and more, and you can see it,” Lowery said. “They’re blazing there.”

In the first set, the Ladyjacks were the first to score, hitting the court with a point immediately by freshman setter Anisto Collins.

UTRGV struck back with a point of its own from senior middle blocker Aaliyah Snead to tie the score.

Both teams were hot on each other’s tail as they tied six times during the first 10 minutes. SFA was often the first to break the tie, only for UTRGV to round it back up.

UTRGV eventually broke the tie at 7-6, then 8-6, launching the Vaqueros to take the lead for about five more points.

SFA tied things up at 13-13, prompting the Vaquero trio of senior libero Celianiz Cabranes, redshirt junior middle blocker Julianna Bryant and freshman setter Lana Rnjak to score a whopping five more points back to back. Rnjak and Bryant made crucial kills and blocks that pushed the Vaqueros 19-14.

UTRGV took the first set 25-17.

UTRGV’s luck, however, may have run out in the second set, where SFA scored three back-to-back points. Ladyjack senior outside hitter Caroline Kahle scored two of the three points and provided an assist, while right side junior Lara Gilardi tallied the third point.

After some serve and attack errors, plus opposing kills, the battle at the net left UTRGV in the dust during the second set. The Ladyjacks took the win 25-17.

The Vaqueros did not stay down for long and came right back firing in the third set.

The third set proved to be tense as both teams were in a constant cat-and-mouse game, tying for almost half the set.

SFA junior middleblocker Jordan Henderson’s blocking played a key role during the third set. Henderson jotted two back-to-back blocks against attacks from UTRGV junior outside hitter Martina Franco and fellow freshman middle blocker Jasmyn Walker.

The Ladyjacks had a 7-4 lead until two assists from Rnjak to Franco and Bryant kicked things up for the Vaqueros. Rnjak also had a block and kill of her own, making it 7-7.

Both teams continued to go back and forth in the third. Rnjak and Bryant to block swung the momentum in UTRGV’s favor after a block against SFA freshman outside hitter Avery Koonsen.

The Vaqueros took the third set 25-17.

The fourth set also started off strong, both teams tying back and forth.

The Ladyjacks seemed to be slightly ahead of the Vaqueros until a kill from Rnjak propelled UTRGV forward.

The winning point came from Franco, securing the win for the Vaqueros 25-22 in the fourth.

Lowery spoke about the historic win mentioning the pride he felt in his players.

“I can’t say it enough,” he said. “There’s not a better mid-major volleyball environment out there right now. You come to a game here, the game day operations, the facilities, everything’s just on and it’s a really fun place to coach and a really fun program to be part of right now. And it’s only going to get better.  I think it just continues to get better and it’s a super exciting place, too. Let’s get to 400.”

Bryant finished with a career-high 10 blocks and 13 kills and said beating SFA was a long time coming.

“I’ve been waiting four years for this. I’ve been waiting to take down [SFA head coach] Debbie Humphreys and her little jacks,” she said jokingly.

The Vaqueros will be back in action against Lamar at noon Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.