SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team maintained its first-place standing in the conference with a 3-1 victory over UTRGV on Thursday night at the McDermott Center. The win marked the Cardinals' eighth straight and gave them 13 conference victories, the most in the program's Division I era.
SET ONE: Vaqueros had the early lead, jumping out to 5-2 until a kill from Teddy-Raye Ewers brought the Cardinals within one at 10-9. Lilly Roach's third kill of the set tied it at 13. The Cardinals held the slight 15-14 edge at the media timeout. Out of the break, UIW went on a 4-1 run to lead 19-15 and force the Vaqueros to take a timeout. Back-to-back kills from Calissa Allison and Ewers prompted another UTRGV. A service error by the Vaqueros gave the Cardinals the first set, 25-20.Â
SET TWO: The Cardinals started the second set on a commanding 7-1 run before UTRGV called a timeout. UIW continued to extend its lead to 12-3. The Vaqueros put together a 4-0 run to pull within four as the Cardinals headed into the media break with a 15-10 lead. The two teams traded points until UIW put together a 3-0 run to take a 21-14 advantage. Another Vaqueros service error gave the Cardinals match point as they took the second set, 25-18.
SET THREE: Set three was even early, as a block assist by Sofia Grimm and Allison tied the game at five. A Bella Ceja ace gave UIW the 6-5 lead, which the Cardinals held until the Vaqueros tied it at 13. UTRGV took a 15-13 lead at the break before back-to-back kills from Ewers gave UIW the lead at 18-17. The set featured four lead changes before the Vaqueros regained the lead at 20-18. UTRGV held on to take its first set, 25-22.Â
SET FOUR: The Cardinals started on a 4-0 run before the Vaqueros cut the deficit to two at 8-6. Another block-assist from Allison and Vanessa Eregie gave UIW a five-point advantage at 18-13. Roach sent the set to the media timeout with her 11th kill, 15-10, before the Cardinals extended their lead to 19-11. The Vaqueros rallied to keep the match alive, but UIW used a 3-0 run to take the fourth set, 25-16, and seal the 3-1 win.
NOTABLES:
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Allison recorded her second consecutive triple-double and sixth of the season, finishing with 12 kills, 24 assists and 12 digs. The performance marked her 19th career triple-double, tying her for fifth on the NCAA all-time list.
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Ewers, Roach, and Tu'ufuli all finished with double-digit kills. Ewers led the team with 13, while Roach and Tu'ufuli both tallied 12.Â
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Victoria Hall led the Cardinals with 21 assists, while Ashton Rogers recorded a team-high 15 digs.
The Cardinals host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 11 a.m. for Senior Day, with a chance to clinch a share of the Southland Conference regular-season title.
FOLLOW ALONG
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on X @UIWAthletics, and on Instagram @uiw_athletics. Â
Follow the team on X @UIWVolleyball and on Instagram @uiw_volleyball.Â
