CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team will finish its three-match road stretch with the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders Thursday as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union. The first of the two Southland Conference (SLC) matches with the Islanders is at 6:30 p.m. at the Dugan Wellness Center.

The Vaqueros (13-8, 9-1 SLC) are coming off a 3-1 win over LSU New Orleans Saturday. UTRGV was led by outside hitter Martina Franco, who had a career-high with 23 kills and added 13 digs for her eighth consecutive double-double. Middle blocker Julianna Bryant had a career-high 17 kills. Lana Rnjak, who was named SLC Setter of the Week on Monday, had a career-high 55 assists Saturday. She finished the week with 109, the third-most in Division I from Oct. 19-25. Senior libero Celianiz Cabranes led the defense with 15 digs, and defensive specialists Carmina Tijerina and Dunja Stankovic each had 10. It was the first time this season that the Vaqueros had four players reach double-digit digs.

The Islanders (7-14, 5-5 SLC) are coming off a 3-1 loss to Southeastern on Saturday. Kenna Buchanan and Mason Tatum tied for the lead in kills with 12 each. Virginia Van Der Werff had her second double-double of the season, and her second in as many matches, with 42 assists and 10 digs. Lauren Sandvold led the defensive effort with 17 digs. The Islanders are second in the conference in hitting percentage with a .258 clip in conference matches.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi leads the all-time series 30-26 as the teams regularly play two matches a year at each other's venues as part of the South Texas Showdown. Last season, UTRGV completed a rare season sweep, winning at home, on the road, and at the conference tournament. The Vaqueros have won eight of the last 10 meetings and are 4-1 in their last five matches in Corpus Christi.

Middle blocker Aaliyah Snead has been one of the team's most efficient attackers over the last four matches, hitting .379 with 37 kills and two errors on 73 swings. Her workload doubled, from about 10 swings a match to about 20, and her big nights came against Stephen F. Austin (.476) and at Southeastern (.519, 16 kills).

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