COLLEGE STATION – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team closed out the Texas A&M Invitational with a 1-3 (25-21, 15-25, 17-25, 22-25) loss to Texas A&M on Friday at Reed Arena.
 
This is the first time UTRGV (5-5) has ever taken a set off of Texas A&M (7-1) after previously getting swept in 2000 and 1976. This is the second time in four tries that UTRGV has taken a set off an SEC opponent after previously winning a set against Mississippi State in 2014.
 
Sophomore Sarah Cruz led UTRGV with 13 kills, six digs and two blocks. Senior Barbara Silva recorded 11 kills. Junior Veronika Jandova finished with nine kills on .571 hitting and four blocks. Junior Debora Nazario dished out 36 assists with nine digs and three blocks.
 
Makena Patterson led Texas A&M with 12 kills with seven blocks. Lauren Davis recorded 11 kills. Hollann Hans posted 10 kills with seven digs, three aces and two blocks. Mallory Talbert posted 10 kills and three blocks. Camille Conner finished with 43 assists, eight kills, seven digs and two blocks.
 
Texas A&M led 4-1 out of the gate in the first set. Kills by Silva and junior Samaret Caraballo sparked a 7-2 run as UTRGV took an 8-6 lead. Later, with Texas A&M up 14-10, a Silva kill and a Cruz ace helped UTRGV win four-straight serves to tie the set. The set stayed tight from there, and with the score tied at 18, Jandova and Nazario combined on a block and Cruz came up with a kill to give UTRGV the lead. Then, with the score tied at 20, UTRGV went on a 5-1 run, capped by a pair of Cruz kills, to end the set.
 
UTRGV dropped the next two sets and then fell behind 7-12 in the fourth set. That's when UTRGV went on a 9-4 run, capped by two Jandova kills and a block by Jandova and Nazario, to tie the set at 16. Two serves later, a Cruz kill brought UTRGV to within 17-18. Texas A&M won the next two serves before UTRGV took advantage of two errors to pull within 19-20. UTRGV was again within one at 21-22 on a kill by senior McAllen Memorial alum Draik Banks. Then, on match point, UTRGV defended with a Silva kill before a block ended the match.
 
UTRGV plays its home opener on $2 Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union. The first 200 fans in attendance will receive #BeatCorpus t-shirts. Tickets and select concession items will be available for $2 or less. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at UTRGVTickets.com. Doors to the UTRGV Fieldhouse open at 6.

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