RIO GRANDE VALLEY – It's rivalry week for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team as the Vaqueros prepare to face the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (AMCC) Islanders in back-to-back Southland Conference (SLC) matches as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union.
The first round of the showdown will be Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. The Vaqueros (14-7, 9-1 SLC) have secured their spot in the SLC Tournament and are now looking to earn their first win against the Islanders (9-9, 5-5 SLC) since Sept. 2023. Corpus won the SLC Tournament in 2024 and currently sits seventh in the conference with three weeks left in the regular season. UTRGV is riding an eight-match winning streak into the contest.
The first 400 fans at Thursday's match will receive a free Beat Corpus t-shirt. There will be a Kills & Thrills costume contest sponsored by Vaquero Outfitters during the match.
Fans can purchase tickets at
UTRGVTickets.com. Students get in free with a valid student ID but will need to claim a ticket at
GoUTRGV.com/StudentTickets. A
clear bag policy is in place for all UTRGV Athletics venues.
Head-to-Head History
• UTRGV is 23-30 all-time against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a series dating back to 2000. These teams regularly play two matches a year at each other's venues as part of the South Texas Showdown.
• The Islanders swept the season series in 2024, winning 3-2 in Edinburg and 3-1 in Corpus. Those wins snapped a five-match winning streak for UTRGV in the series.
• UTRGV's last win over the Islanders was a 3-2 battle in Corpus in Sept. 2023.
Last Time Out
• UTRGV used its second-best hitting percentage of the season, .463, to earn a
3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-19) win at McNeese on Saturday, its eighth victory in a row. That hitting percentage is the fourth-best in program history. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker
Julianna Bryant led the offense with 12 kills on .647 hitting. Sophomore outside hitter
Martina Franco and senior right side
Valentina Sarti Cipriani added nine kills each on .421 and .500 hitting, respectively. Junior setter
Isabella Costantini tallied 35 assists, two aces, three blocks, three digs and one kill. Junior libero
Celianiz Cabranes had a match-high 14 digs.
• Texas A&M-Corpus Christi earned a 3-1 (25-21, 26-28, 25-12, 25-19) win at McNeese for its second straight victory. Four Islanders reached double-digit kills:
Jaeda Rawls-Fletcher (18),
Tatum Mason (15),
Katelyn Krienke (14) and
Kenna Buchanan (11).
Virginia Van Der Werff dished out 53 assists and had 10 digs and seven kills.
Brooklyn Jaeger had 24 digs and Buchanan had 20.
Complete match notes can be found here:
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