EDINBURG, Texas – HBU hung around thanks to its defense, but fell, 3-1 (25-12, 23-25, 25-15, 25-20), to host UT Rio Grande Valley in the UTRGV Volleyball Tournament and non-conference finale Saturday at UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Sophomore outside hitter
Mikayla Vivens was named to the All-Tournament Team after recording 17 kills, 24 digs and five blocks, double-doubling in all three matches on the weekend for the Huskies (7-7). Freshman outside hitter
Catherine Drapela added nine kills, while senior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport had five kills and seven blocks. Sophomore right side
Ashtyn Richey had five kills and five blocks and sophomore middle blocker
Megan Patillo also had five rejections. Senior setter
Madison O'Brien dished out 18 assists, while sophomore setter
Morgan Dewyer had 15. Junior libero
Hannah Lewis added 17 digs and six assists.
Ragni Steen Knudsen led UTRGV (9-5) with 18 kills and 16 digs, while Antonela Jularic also double-doubled with 14 kills and 12 digs. Alexandra Ecker chipped in with 10 kills and three blocks and Dubravka Vukoja had 49 assists and 10 digs. Gysell Zayas came up with 28 digs to lead UTRGV defensively.
UTRGV hit .222 for the match, while holding HBU to its lowest hitting percentage of the season at .083. UTRGV outdug the Huskies, 82-71, and outaced them, 7-5. HBU held a 12-7 advantage in blocks.
The Huskies return to action and return home for the Southland Conference opener against New Orleans Thursday at 7 p.m. at Sharp Gym, followed by Nicholls Saturday at 1 p.m.
