CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team fell to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in three sets (25-14, 25-23, 25-22) in the first match of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, at the Dugan Wellness Center.
The Vaqueros (13-9, 9-2 Southland) were led by outside hitter
Martina Franco with nine kills and middle blocker
Julianna Bryant who had eight kills and five blocks. Setter
Lana Rnjak had 27 assists and five digs. Libero
Celianiz Cabranes led the defense with 27 digs.
The Islanders (8-14, 6-5 SLC) attack was led by
Tatum Mason who finished with 12 kills hitting .800.
Kenna Buchanan had eight kills and seven digs.
Virginia Van Der Werff collected 30 assists while Lauren Sandvold led the defense with 12 digs.
The Islanders took advantage of early mistakes in Set 1, building a 7-3 lead. Bryant and Franco each had a kill to cut the lead to 10-7. Corpus began to pull away, opening a 19-11 lead. The Islanders took Set 1, 25-14.
UTRGV came out in Set 2 with renewed energy as
Aaliyah Snead, Franco, Bryant, and
Jasmyn Walker all recorded kills before Cabranes capped the service run with an ace for an 8-1 lead. The Islanders used a 4-1 run to cut the lead to five. The Vaqueros held the lead at five as the two sides traded kills and the score settled at 16-11.
Bryant picked up a kill and a solo block to spark a 4-1 run that was ended with a kill for Snead. The set of runs continued as the Islanders used a 4-0 run to cut the lead to two. They carried the momentum through a timeout to take Set 2, 25-23.
Set 3 started with an ace by Rnjak followed by a pair of kills for Walker. The Islanders countered as Aleshire tied the set at 5-5 with an ace. Two kills for Tatum gave Corpus a 12-8 led. UTRGV responded with a kill by Bryant, an ace for senior
Isa Bento, and a setter dump by Rnjak.
A kill by Franco helped the Vaqueros take a 16-15 lead. AMCC took advantage of consecutive errors by UTRGV to take a 20-16 lead. Kills by Walker and Bryant cut the lead to two but the Islanders went on to take the final set 25-22 and the match.
UTRGV will play the Islanders again Saturday at 12 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Fans can purchase tickets for the game 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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