CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The 2025 volleyball edition of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, was all about The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) as the Vaqueros secured the season sweep with a comeback 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 25-17, 23-25, 15-9) victory Saturday over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (AMCC) Islanders at the Dugan Wellness Center.
The victory extended UTRGV's Southland Conference (SLC) winning streak to 10 matches and was the 100
thconference victory for head coach
Todd Lowery. Lowery now sits at 599 career victories and will be chasing win No. 600 Thursday as the Vaqueros host the Incarnate Word Cardinals at the UTRGV Fieldhouse Thursday at 6:30 p.m. 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.
Junior libero
Celianiz Cabranes had a career-high 40 digs – the fourth-most in a match in UTRGV (16-7, 11-1 SLC) history – to anchor a solid defensive effort that aided the win. Junior setter
Isabella Costantini dished out 58 assists and had four hitters in double-digit kills. Sophomore outside hitter
Martina Franco led the way with a match-high 17 kills and had a career-high 21 digs to go with a career-high tying four blocks in her third double-double.
Freshman outside hitter
Dimitra Nanou added 16 kills and the middle blocking duo of redshirt sophomore Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant and junior
Aaliyah Snead had 12 kills each. Snead tabbed a career-high tying six blocks and Bryant added four. Costantini had a season-high six kills, three aces, eight digs and two blocks to go with her second-highest assist total this season.
The Islanders (9-15, 5-7 SLC) had four hitters with double-digit kills as well:
Kaitlyn Baumann (13),
Tatum Mason (12),
Kenna Buchanan (11) and
Katelyn Krienke (10). Buchanan added 15 digs for a double-double and Krienke had five blocks.
Virginia Van Der Werff had 46 assists, 13 digs and five kills.
Brooklyn Jaeger finished with 25 digs.
The first set was a battle from the start as both teams served early aces and put down some good kills. The Islanders found the first separation, opening an 11-7 lead with big play from Baumann. UTRGV settled in defensively and scored four unanswered to get within one point of AMCC, but the Islanders answered with a 5-0 run to hold an 18-12 advantage. The Vaqueros cleaned up some early attack errors and got more hands on swings at the net, closing the deficit to 23-21 late in the set. Corpus Christi secured the 25-22 set win on a service error.
The Islanders carried the momentum to the second set, opening up a 12-6 lead despite the Vaqueros playing good defense. UTRGV showed its composure and Costantini sparked a 5-0 run with a dump kill and an ace. AMCC responded, forcing the Vaqueros to call timeout with the home squad leading 20-16.
UTRGV regrouped and settled in and closed the set on a big 10-4 run. Costantini was a key contributor, recording two of her four kills in the set in the run and serving an ace to even things up at 22-22. An ace from Nanou and a kill by Snead helped UTRGV to a 26-24 set win. Despite having just one block through the first two sets, the Vaqueros held the Islanders below .300 hitting in both of the opening sets as Cabranes racked up 21 digs and anchored a strong defensive effort.
Set 3 was all Vaqueros from the start. They played with incredible energy, leading to booming kills and a quick 5-0 lead. The block woke up and stuffed five Corpus swings in the frame, forcing the Islanders to scramble out of system and commit eight attack errors in the set compared to nine kills. UTRGV led by as many as nine points as Franco started scoring with ease down the stretch to help the 25-17 set win, putting the Vaqueros up 2-1 in the match.
The Islanders jumped out to a lead in the fourth and held on to force a fifth set with a 25-23 win. The Vaqueros battled well, nearly erasing what was a six-point deficit midway through the frame. Senior serving specialist
Natalie Reyes was the catalyst of a 3-0 run that got the Vaqueros rolling and the teams swapped scoring plays until a block by Bryant and Costantini put UTRGV within 21-20. Both teams played good defense and got big swings in, but the Islanders held on as UTRGV committed nine attack errors in the set.
UTRGV used a pair of blocks to take an early lead in the deciding fifth set as Franco recorded a solo stuff and Snead and junior outside hitter
Nadine Zech combined for another. Junior defensive specialist
Isa Bento and Franco recorded aces as UTRGV's service pressure put the Islanders on their heels. Franco's booming jump serve backed a 4-0 run that opened up an 11-5 lead for the Vaqueros. Snead's third kill of the set got UTRGV to 14-7, and though the Islanders fought off two match points, a block error on a high-hands swing by Zech secured the win, 15-9, for the Vaqueros.
UTRGV and AMCC are now tied at 7-7 in the Showdown standings as the Vaqueros also picked up the attendance point, outdrawing the Islanders 1,081-461.
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