UTRGV (0-2) volleyball is set to return to the court at 7 p.m. Monday and 1 p.m. Tuesday to begin conference play against new WAC member Dixie State (1-2, 0-2).
The Vaqueros’ injury woes and lack of conditioning got the best of them in their opening weekend doubleheader versus UTSA and Texas A&M Corpus-Christi in 2-3 (25-22, 23-25, 16-25, 27-25, 16-18) and 0-3 (23-25, 15-25, 18-25) losses, respectively.
In a weekly news conference via Zoom, UTRGV Head Coach Todd Lowery explained that despite the team’s lack of depth, he was proud of how they competed.
“I thought the girls scrambled really well and really went out and competed,” Lowery says. “Lost a tough one right at the end of the fifth set [versus UTSA]. Against Corpus, tired legs with not many bodies, it got the best of us.”
Although a first-ever matchup between UTRGV and Dixie State, Lowery can’t help but be reminded of a former WAC school when preparing for the Trailblazers.
“I feel like we are preparing for Cal-Bakersfield,” He says. “I mean they’re a high energy team, they never shut it off, they kind of do everything well and they compete in every aspect well.”
UTRGV will still be short-handed for their doubleheader versus Dixie State as key players return from injuries and personal reasons.
In a season start that has had many ups and downs, Lowery’s message to the team has remained constant and that is to compete.
“That’s been our goal and our message this spring season,” he says, “we knew it was going to be chaotic and getting a little bit away from wins and losses and how do we focus being a team that competes everyday and using this season to build our program. ”
Lowery wants to shift the culture within the program to become consistently competitive as the WAC expands, welcoming competitors such as Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State.
Twitter: @Radio_Rubio
