CORPUS CHRISTI – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team fell to the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) 1-3 (20-25, 25-18, 20-25, 20-25) in their first meeting of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, on Tuesday at Dugan Wellness Center.
 
The South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, is now tied at 5-5.
 
Junior Bojana Mitrovic led UTRGV (4-3) with 15 kills, eight digs and three blocks. Sophomore Ragni Steen Knudsen recorded her sixth double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs. Sophomore Alexandra Ecker came up with nine kills and five blocks. Junior Tina Sekulic finished with 43 assists while senior Fatoumata Dacosta posted 24 digs.
 
Brittany Gilpin led TAMUCC (3-3) with 16 kills, 13 digs and four blocks. Madeline Doud had 10 kills with seven blocks. Kristyn Nicholson dished out 45 assists.
 
After TAMUCC took the first set, UTRGV responded by scoring the first seven points of the second set while building an 8-1 lead. TAMUCC cut the lead to 7-10, but a Mitrovic kill was the first of four-straight points by UTRGV to push the lead back out to seven. TAMUCC again pulled within three at 13-16, but back-to-back kills by Ecker followed by four by Mitrovic allowed UTRGV to run away with the set.
 
TAMUCC led 7-3 at the start of the third set, but after a timeout, UTRGV scored three-straight points as part of an 8-3 run to take the lead. UTRGV extended its lead to 18-14 on a block by sophomore Barbara Thais Krug, but a pair of Doud kills sparked an 11-1 run as TAMUCC came from behind to win the set.
 
UTRGV led 4-3 early in the fourth set on a Krug kill before TAMUCC scored five of the next six points to take an 8-5 lead. UTRGV pulled even at 10-10 on a block by freshman Barbara Silva and 12-12 on a block by Mitrovic and Ecker. The match was still tied at 13 on a Krug kill, but TAMUCC followed with a 7-1 run to pull away for the win.
 
UTRGV opens up the Texas Tech Tournament on Friday at 4 p.m. against Abilene Christian.
 
The next event of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, is on Sunday at 7 p.m. when UTRGV women's soccer visits TAMUCC with three points at stake.

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