RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team, the lone unbeaten squad in Southland Conference (SLC) play, will host the Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Ladyjacks in a Breast Cancer Awareness match and a rematch of the SLC Championship battle at the UTRGV Fieldhouse at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Vaqueros (10-7, 6-0 SLC) have swept three straight opponents, including a 3-0 win over East Texas A&M on Saturday. Outside hitter Martina Franco had 14 kills on .379 hitting and added 11 digs for her fourth straight double-double. Right side Ema Petkovic had 13 kills to go along with three aces. Redshirt junior Harlingen High alum Julianna Bryant hit .600 for a third consecutive match, collecting seven kills and adding a team-high five blocks. Setter Lana Rnjak had 34 assists and set a career high with three aces. Senior libero Celianiz Cabranes tied her season high with three aces and led the defense with 14 digs.

The Ladyjacks (11-8, 5-1 SLC) are coming off a 3-1 win against Houston Christian over the weekend. Caroline Kahle and Avery Koonsen tied for the team lead in kills with 13 each. Setter Aniston Collins notched her first career double-double with 27 assists and 12 digs. Middle blocker Kyanna Creecy led the team with six blocks in the match. Creecy leads the SLC in blocks (73) and blocks per set (1.14) this season.

SFA leads the all-time series over UTRGV 23-1. The Ladyjacks have won eight straight in the series, including the SLC Championship match last season in Commerce, Texas. In the regular season meeting, the match went to five sets, with SFA winning 3-2. The lone win for the Vaqueros was a 3-0 result at the Texas Tech Tournament on September 10, 2016.

The match also features two of the winningest active coaches in the sport. SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys leads all active NCAA Division I coaches with 880 career victories, while UTRGV head coach Todd Lowery ranks 12th among active coaches with 615. A win on Thursday would give Lowery 200 victories at each of three schools (National American University, UT-Brownsville, and UTRGV), making him the only active coach in college volleyball to reach that mark.

Fans can purchase tickets for the match at UTRGVTickets.com. All tickets for UTRGV Athletics home events will use NFC scanning, therefore screenshots will not grant entry. Fans can save and access tickets for entry via Apple or Google Wallet or by logging into your account at UTRGVTickets.com.

Fans are encouraged to visit RallyTheValley.com for everything they need to know about attending home volleyball games. If you're unable to attend, the match will be streamed on ESPN+ domestically and Southland International for international fans.

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