SAN ANTONIO – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team will travel to San Antonio to play the UIW Cardinals at 6 p.m. Thursday at the McDermott Center.

The Vaqueros (14-11, 10-4 Southland) are looking to bounce back after consecutive losses at home. On Saturday they fell 3-1 to Northwestern State. Outside hitter Martina Franco led UTRGV with 15 kills and added 13 digs for a double-double. Middle blocker Julianna Bryant had 13 kills, five blocks and two aces, and middle blocker Aaliyah Snead added 11 kills and five blocks. Setter Lana Rnjak dished out 39 assists and had 12 digs. Libero Celianiz Cabranes led the defense with 20 digs, and defensive specialist Dunja Stankovic added nine.

The Cardinals (14-9, 12-2 SLC) have won seven straight going into Thursday's match. Most recently, they swept Houston Christian. The Cardinals were led by a defense that held HCU to .072 hitting. Calissa Allison recorded a triple-double, leading the team with 11 kills and 17 assists while adding 10 digs. Allison is one of three players in Division I with five triple-doubles this season. On the defensive end, Ashton Rogers led the team with 12 digs.

UTRGV leads the all-time series 20-8 over UIW. The Vaqueros defeated UIW 3-1 to open October earlier this season. It was the third straight victory for UTRGV over the Cardinals as the Vaqueros have won 13 of the last 15 in the series. The Vaqueros are strong on the road in the series with a 5-1 record, including four straight wins in San Antonio.

Snead has been one of UTRGV's best road performers this season. In nine games on the road, Snead has hit .315 with 57 kills. Her career-best match came at Southeastern, where she had 16 kills and hit .519. It's a trend among the middle blockers as Bryant also hits better on the road with a .350 hitting percentage compared to .293 at home.

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