Volleyball Drops Pair Of Matches On Opening Day Of Tournament Play

EDINBURG, Texas – Texas Southern dropped both matches to UTRGV and Houston Baptist on the opening day of the 2019 UTRGV Tournament.

UTRGV 3, TSU 0
TSU fought hard but came up short at the end in a 3-0 loss to host UTRGV on Friday afternoon.

Aided by four TSU errors to begin set one, UTRGV jumped out to a 9-1 lead but TSU settled down and cut its deficit to 16-13 before errors reared its head again and allowed UTRGV to move back ahead 23-15. UTRGV closed out set one 25-15 with a kill and a service ace.

Set two was evenly played as UTRGV led early but TSU remained within striking distance down 16-12 midway through the set. A UTRGV kill and service ace created separation at 18-12 but TSU pulled to within 20-15 after a pair of UTRGV errors. However, TSU would only score one point the rest of the way as they fell 25-16.

Set three was nearly a mirror image of set two except TSU took control and had a late lead (21-20). UTRGV would move ahead 22-21 after a kill and block but TSU tied the set at 23-23 after Maria Salazar-Guiterrez’s kill. Unfortunately, the momentum would swing back to UTRGV at the end as they closed the match out with a kill and a service ace.

Jada Hall and Alexis Austin led the way with six kills followed by 11 assists from Breyanna York. Valencia Grayson posted 14 digs while Austin also had 12 digs and two service aces.

HOUSTON BAPTIST 3, TSU 0
Houston Baptist won a pair of close sets en route to a 3-0 win over TSU in the second match of the day.

With the contest tied at 9-all in set one, HBU would go on an 8-2 surge to lead 17-11 and take control of the set. The Tigers would battle back and draw within 23-19 but HBU closed out the set with the final two points to claim an early lead.

HBU jumped ahead 8-2 to open set two but TSU would close the gap to 9-6 aided by a Nia Stone kill and two HBU attack errors. Four consecutive kills allowed HBU to move ahead 13-6 and set the tone as they ran away 25-13.

The final set was back-and-forth with TSU trailing 15-14 at the midway point. A TSU service error moved HBU ahead 16-14 but TSU cut the deficit to 16-15 after Stone’s kill. However, three TSU attack errors coupled with two kills and a service ace broke the game open for HBU en route to a 25-17 Husky win.

Jada Hall led TSU with six kills while York had 13 assists along with 15 digs from Grayson.

TSU is back in action Saturday at 11 a.m. versus Washington State.