On Nov. 10, the Vaqueros ran through Abilene Christian University in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championship game winning 3-1 sets, at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
The Vaqueros volleyball team was ranked number seven coming into the season, but after winning the WAC Championship, they look to carry that momentum going into the playoffs with star player and outside hitter Sarah Cruz.
Head coach Todd Lowery said he noticed the team is reaching their peak potential and only increasing their growth.
“We are starting to see over the last three or four matches, we are starting to see everybody contribute,” said Lowery.
The volleyball team scored a total of 70 points and 56 total assists.
Graduate student Sarah Cruz was ecstatic and proud of the performance the team had during the championship game.
“This is very exciting. This did not happen to me my first four years I have been here, so this is a very special moment for me and the team,” Cruz said while tearing up. “We started slow the first set, but then we picked it up and everything went well after that and we won it.”
Cruz put up 16 kills, four blocks, and seven digs, leading the team to ultimately winning the game.
Junior middle blocker Luisa Silva Dos Santos could not hold back her excitement knowing the team was about to win the championship.
Luisa said, “I couldn’t hold myself but then I was like ‘okay we need to control ourselves and finish this set’ but everyone was so happy and we knew what we were all doing was working.”
Silva Dos Santos contributed 12 kills and two aces to help topple the Abilene Wildcats.
The UTRGV volleyball team will compete in the WAC Tournament on home turf on Thursday Nov. 17, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information on the volleyball team, visit goutrgv.com.
