LAS CRUCES, N.M. - No. 5 seed UT Rio Grande Valley knocked off top-seeded NM State in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament Friday. The Vaqueros advance to the championship match where they will face second-seeded Utah Valley.
Alisha Watson led UTRGV with 13 kills, while Bojana Mitrovic recorded nine kills and four blocks. Fatoumata Dacosta had a match-high 23 digs.
Tatyana Battle led NM State with 14 kills and 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the year, while Jordan Abalos had 13 kills and 12 digs for her WAC-leading 16th double-double. Kassandra Tohm added 13 kills, as well.
In the first set, there were 13 ties but UTRGV came away with the win. The Vaqueros out-hit the Aggies .167 to .022 on the set. Watson had four kills and Dacosta had nine digs in the set for UTRGV.
UTRGV led 14-9 in the second set when NM State used a 6-0 run to take a 15-14 lead. After a tie at 19, UTRGV rattled off four straight points and won the set 25-20.
NM State dominted set three, leading by as many as 10 and winning 25-16. Tohm had six kills on the set.
In the fourth set, UTRGV jumped out to a 9-4, but NM State scored five straight points to tie it up. The set was then played closely until UTRGV took an 18-15 lead, but NM State answered and took a 20-18 lead. After a tie at 23, the Vaqueros closed out the match with a pair of blocks to secure the victory.