EDINBURG – Despite conference-leading UT Rio Grande Valley winning two sets in a row to force a fifth, the East Texas A&M University volleyball team downed the Vaqueros 3-2 on Thursday night at the UTRGV Field House. The Lions won the opening two sets 25-22, 25-22, dropped the next two 18-25, 22-25, and closed the match 15-12.
The Lions remain alive for a postseason berth with the win, improving to 4-9 in Southland Conference play and 10-16 overall, while the Vaqueros fell to the Lions for the first time since joining the conference and are now 10-3 in conference play and 14-10 overall.
To begin the match, the Lions answered UTRGV's opening point with five straight, getting a kill from
Ariana Brown (Conroe), two Brown service aces and a
Gracie Campbell (Klein Oak) block to move ahead 5-1. UTRGV worked back from there, tying the set at 6-6 and later going in front 13-11, but an ace from
Jill Vinal (A&M-Consolidated) evened it at 13 before Brown's ace helped the Lions take a 16-14 lead. UTRGV responded again, turning a 17-16 deficit into a 21-17 lead behind.
Samantha Mosley (Atlanta) stopped that stretch with a kill, and the Lions followed with consecutive late points from Campbell,
Sediong Scott (Houston – Elsik) and UTRGV attack errors to close the set 25-22.
After UTRGV answered Brown's opening kill in the second set, the Lions won five straight points, including two Mosley kills and a block by Scott and Mosley, to move ahead 6-1. UTRGV came back to tie the set at 7-7 and later took a 12-11 lead, but kills by Mosley,
Sabine Wenzel (Melrose, Mass.) and Campbell helped the Lions move back in front 14-12. A UTRGV service error and two attack errors pushed the Lions ahead 17-13, before UTRGV tied it at 19. The Lions went back ahead 20-19 on an attack error, added late kills from Wenzel and Brown, and closed the set 25-22.
UTRGV built a 9-3 lead in the third, but a block by Scott and Mosley started a Lions response, and kills by Mosley and Brown during Campbell's service turn helped trim the deficit to 9-8. UTRGV pushed back ahead 18-11. The Lions answered with a UTRGV service error, a
Skylar Lambert (Aledo) kill and a Brown ace to get within 18-14, but UTRGV closed the set 25-18.
The Lions built an early 4-1 lead in the fourth set, getting kills from Campbell, Mosley and Brown around a UTRGV attack error. UTRGV kept pulling back, but the Lions stayed ahead through 16-14 as Campbell, Mosley, Brown and Wenzel supplied kills and Scott added a service ace. UTRGV scored the next five points to move in front 19-16, later reached set point at 24-20, and after kills by Campbell and Brown kept the Lions alive, Jasmyn Walker closed the set for UTRGV, 25-22.
UTRGV used kills early in the deciding set to move ahead 2-0, but the Lions answered with six straight points on Campbell's serve, including two Mosley kills and an Brown kill, to go in front 6-2. The Lions stretched the lead to 10-4 behind a Vinal service ace and a Wenzel block, before UTRGV scored seven of the next eight points to tie it at 11-11. A UTRGV bad set put the Lions back ahead, and Lambert's kill and a final UTRGV service error closed a 15-12 fifth-set win.
Brown scored a team-high 20.0 points with 16 kills and four service aces. Brown's 16 kills were above her season average of 12.12. Mosley added 15 kills, five blocks and 17.5 points while hitting .273. Mosley has recorded at least 15 kills in two consecutive matches. Campbell has recorded at least 15 kills in three consecutive matches.
Jade Washington (Waco – Midway) collected a team-high 22 digs, exceeding her season average of 18.4, and added nine assists.
Katelyn Pritchard (McAllen) finished with 26 assists and 16 digs, setting career highs in both categories after previous marks of 23 assists and 12 digs.
Vinal has recorded at least 20 set assists in three consecutive matches. Wenzel has recorded at least four total blocks in two consecutive matches. Scott recorded four blocks, above her season average of 3.0.
The Lions recorded nine blocks, above their season average of 8.08, and have recorded at least nine blocks in three consecutive matches. East Texas A&M also recorded nine service aces, above its season average of 7.4, and has recorded at least nine service aces in two consecutive matches.
UP NEXT
The Lions head over to A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday at 1 p.m.
-ETAMU-
