HOUSTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team will close the regular season at Houston Christian (HCU) in a Southland Conference (SLC) match at 1 p.m. Saturday at Sharp Gym.

The Vaqueros (14-12, 10-5 Southland) fell 3-1 to UIW on Thursday. Outside hitter Martina Franco paced the offense with 16 kills. In her first match back since Oct. 10, Right side Ema Petkovic recorded nine kills. Middle blocker Julianna Bryant added 10 kills on a .412 clip, and freshman Soukeyna Diouf chipped in eight kills. Middle blocker Aaliyah Snead had seven kills and four blocks. Setter Lana Rnjak posted her second consecutive double-double with 44 assists and 12 digs, and libero Celianiz Cabranes also had 12 digs.

The Huskies (6-21, 4-11 SLC) are coming off a 3-2 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Sa'Myah Medford led the Huskies with 21 kills, hitting .426. Joya Euhus had 16 kills, and Katy Barger had with 14 kills. Enisilina Savelio recorded a double-double with 49 assists and 14 digs. Defensively, Katelyn Vo had 23 digs and Bianca Byerly had 18.

HCU leads the all-time series over UTRGV 15-13. The Vaqueros have won six straight in the series heading into Saturday's match. The two teams squared off earlier this season, with UTRGV winning 3-0 at home. The Vaqueros were clutch when it mattered, winning two sets by two points. Bryant, Franco and Petkovic all finished with 10 kills or more in the match. UTRGV has won the last two matches on the road in the series but is 3-9 in Houston overall.

UTRGV is 9-6 this season in sets decided by two points, including 5-3 on the road. Twice, the Vaqueros have won two sets by two points in a match, against Houston Christian and Bradley. The Huskies are 14-18 in sets decided by two points, averaging one such set per match.

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