EDINBURG, Texas — Lamar University battled Southland Conference-leading UT Rio Grande Valley before falling in straight sets, 25-22, 25-18, 25-17, Saturday afternoon at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the opening set behind kills from
Maja Malinowska and
Nisaan Martinez.
UTRGV struggled offensively early, not recording its first kill until the sixth point.
The teams battled through 10 early ties before Lamar took a 13-11 lead on back-to-back kills from Martinez.
The Vaqueros answered with a 3-0 run to take their first lead of the match, 14-13, before Martinez responded with another kill to even the set at 14.
UTRGV countered with a 3-1 run to regain a two-point advantage and eventually stretched the lead to five following a 6-2 run.
The Cardinals fought back with three straight points, including a service ace from
Gabby Baker, to pull within two.
The Vaqueros outscored Lamar 2-1 down the stretch to secure the three-point victory.
Lamar opened the second set with five unanswered points, highlighted by three consecutive service aces from
Alexa Gonzalez and a kill from Malinowska.
The Cardinals extended their advantage to seven with a 4-1 run that included kills from Malinowska, Martinez and
Leila Ceaser.
UTRGV answered with four straight points to trim the deficit to three, but Lamar responded with a 4-1 run to push its lead back to six.
The Cardinals capitalized on three UTRGV attack errors during the run while
Saida Maksoud added a kill.
The Vaqueros erased the six-point deficit with a 7-0 run to take a 14-13 lead.
Lamar responded with two straight points to regain the advantage, 15-14, before UTRGV countered with three unanswered points for a 17-15 lead.
Lamar pulled even at 17, but UTRGV closed the set on an 8-1 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
After four early ties in the third set, UTRGV used a 3-0 run to take a 6-4 lead.
The Vaqueros extended their advantage to eight by outscoring the Cardinals 7-1.
UTRGV pushed its lead to a match-high 10 points with six unanswered points.
Lamar responded by outscoring the Vaqueros 4-2 down the stretch, but the Cardinals were unable to overcome the deficit.
MATCH NOTES
- Martinez led the Cardinals with 11 kills while adding four digs and one block assist.
- Malinowska recorded her ninth double-double of the season and 40th of her career with 10 kills and 11 digs. Malinowska also added a service ace.
- Maksoud finished with five kills while Gonzalez directed the offense with 20 assists to go along with eight digs and three service aces.
- Baker recorded 14 digs while Riley Johnson added three block assists.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals return to the road Wednesday, Oct. 21, for a 6:30 p.m. match at Northwestern State.
#PeckEmCards
