Jan Trejo/Vaquero Radio
The UTRGV Women’s Volleyball Team fell 3-2 in its home opener last Thursday against Texas Tech University at the Fieldhouse with 2,711 people in attendance.
The Vaqueros were neck and neck during the first set, making it difficult for both teams to have more than a three-point lead.
The first set of the match ended with a 25-21 victory, with senior outside hitter Claudia Lupescu making key plays that defined the set.
In the second set, UTRGV continued to keep a close score with Texas Tech, trying not to let the visitors get ahead.
The Raiders tied the game 24-24, after a kill by Texas Tech graduate outside hitter Mia Wesley.
The Vaqueros were able to win the second set of the game, finishing 26-24 after a kill and an ace by Lupescu.
Texas Tech reacted strongly and took control of the third set with a four-point lead, finishing 25-21, after a strong performance by Wesley, who made crucial kills for the team.
After a tough fourth set, Texas Tech tied the game 2-2. The set ended 25-23, giving the Vaqueros a difficult time to catch up.
In the last set, UTRGV fell short despite a strong effort against Texas Tech, which held the lead the entire set. The set ended 15-11 in favor of the Raiders. Texas Tech junior middle blocker Brynn Williams, making three crucial kills to seal the victory.
Head coach Todd Lowery shared his thoughts about the game.
“First, you know, hats off to the crowd,” Lowery said. “What an awesome crowd, and stuck with it through the whole match. You know, it’s hard to fight back a one in the fifth and to make a run like they did at the end. … And I thought they did a great job just fighting.”
Lowery also spoke about the mindset the Vaqueros need to have for the next game..
“Yeah, I think the mentality ‘It’s next up,’ you know,” he said. “Whether we would have won this match or lost this match, we got to find a way to drag ourselves out of the beds in the morning to and come back and do it all over again.”
Lupescu, who finished with 25 kills and 59 total attacks, explained what she has to improve for the next game.
“Just to stay calm mentally and just to keep, like, having the mentality of, ‘OK, you know, just go to one spot, you go to different shots and so on,’ as coach said,” Lupescu said. “And just to be smart with my hand.”
The Vaqueros will compete against Texas State University at 11 a.m Saturday in El Paso.
For more information, visit goutrgv.com.
This is Jan Trejo for Vaquero Radio.
