University of the Incarnate Word Athletics

SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team took its Southland Conference opener, powering past East Texas A&M, 3-1, on Thursday night at the McDermott Center. The Cardinals dominated the Lions down the stretch in the fourth set to close out the conference-opening victory.

SET ONE: The game remained tight through the opening set, with the teams trading points until East Texas A&M pulled ahead, 15-11, heading into the media timeout. The Cardinals responded with a 3-0 run out of the break to cut the deficit to one, but the Lions answered with a run of their own to extend the lead to 18-14 and force a UIW timeout. The Cardinals continued to chip away, eventually tying the set at 21 after a block from Sofia Grimm and Calissa Allison. Kitana Tu'ufuli followed with a kill to put UIW ahead, 22-21, forcing an East Texas A&M timeout. Grimm closed out the set with a kill to give UIW the opening set. 

SET TWO: Cardinals capitalized early on Lion attack errors before East Texas A&M took a 4-3 lead following a 3-0 scoring run. Lions were forced to take a timeout as the Cardinals took a 12-8 lead after a 4-0 run. Tu'ufuli extended the run with a kill out of the break, sending the Cardinals into the media timeout and a 6-1 run. The Lions pushed it within five to prompt a UIW timeout, but the Cardinals closed out the set on Allison's 25th assist, setting up Tu'ufuli for her 12th kill of the match.

SET THREE: UIW jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the third set after a 5-0 run. East Texas A&M answered with a 3-0 run to pull within one and force a Cardinal timeout. The Lions took their first lead of the set, 8-7, out of the timeout and continued to build momentum. East Texas A&M then extended its lead, forcing UIW to take its second timeout of the set after trailing 20-15. East Texas A&M went on to win set three, 25-19, to send the match to a fourth set. 

SET FOUR: Allison opened the fourth set with back-to-back kills and a block to give the Cardinals an early 4-1 lead. UIW continued to pull away, forcing East Texas A&M to take another timeout, as the Cardinals led 8-4. Bella Ceja added her first ace of the match to push the lead to 18-10. The Cardinals took control from there, closing out the set, 25-13, to seal the 3-1 victory in dominant fashion. 

NOTABLES:

• Allison recorded her sixth double-double of the season, dishing out a season-high 37 assists and recording 11 digs. 
• Tu'ufuli tied her season high with 15 kills and now sits at 960 career kills, just 40 away from the 1,000-kill milestone.

• Lilly Roach reached a career-high four blocks, while Eregie tied her career high and set a new season high with six blocks. 

• Sofia Grimm had a career night, setting new highs with six blocks and three aces.

• UIW recorded a season-high 12 total blocks as a team.
• Ashton Rogers led the Cardinals with 22 digs. 
• The Cardinals held East Texas A&M to a .094 hitting percentage, the lowest mark by a UIW opponent this season.

The Cardinals remain at home Saturday, Sept. 26, hosting Northwestern State at 1 p.m. at the McDermott Center.

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.   

Follow the team on X @UIWVolleyball and on Instagram @uiw_volleyball.