HOUSTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team swept the Houston Christian (HCU) Huskies 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-18) in a Southland Conference (SLC) match Saturday at Sharp Gym, the regular-season finale for both teams.
Right side
Ema Petkovic led the Vaqueros (15-12, 11-5 SLC) with 11 kills and two aces, including six kills and an ace in the second set. Redshirt junior Harlingen High alum
Julianna Bryant added nine kills on a .471 clip and seven blocks, five of them in the first set. Freshman outside hitter
Soukeyna Diouf had six kills and five blocks, and outside hitter
Martina Franco chipped in eight kills and 10 digs. Setter
Lana Rnjak had 31 assists and served three aces, while senior libero
Celianiz Cabranes and freshman defensive specialist
Dunja Stankovic each had 11 digs. UTRGV held HCU to a .055 hitting percentage.
For the Huskies (6-22, 4-12 SLC),
Katy Barger led with nine kills, and
Allana Archie added six.
Enisilina Savelio had 19 assists, and
Byerly led the defense with 15 digs and two aces.
I'Onna Jones had three blocks.
HCU opened the first set with a 3-0 lead, but a Petkovic kill and a Rnjak kill tied it at 3-3. The set was tied three times, the last at 5-5, before UTRGV took control with a 4-0 run: two Bryant kills, a Rnjak and Bryant block, and a Petkovic ace to make it 9-5. The Vaqueros recorded seven blocks in the set, five of them involving Bryant, and a block from Diouf and Bryant sealed it, 25-16.
UTRGV never trailed in the second set. Petkovic opened with a kill, and the Vaqueros built a 6-1 lead as Cabranes served, with kills from Bryant and Petkovic. Petkovic finished the set with six kills and an ace, and a Rnjak ace made it 22-14. The Huskies got the score to 23-20 late, but a Petkovic kill and an attack error by HCU closed it, 25-20.
UTRGV led the third set from start to finish, going up 3-0 as Rnjak served three straight points, including an ace. A Rnjak and Bryant block made it 10-7, and Diouf kills at 11-7, 12-9 and 13-10 extended the lead. The Vaqueros led 18-12 on a Petkovic kill and closed it with a Franco kill, 25-18.
UTRGV finished the regular season 11-5 in conference play and will be the No. 4 seed in the SLC Tournament, hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Vaqueros will open the tournament against No. 5 seed McNeese at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at the Dugan Wellness Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Tickets for the 2026 SLC Volleyball Championship are available at GoUTRGV.com/SLCVBTournamentTickets. All-tournament passes are $35 for adults and $25 for students, with day passes at $15 for adults. Day passes are $10 for children 12 and younger, adults 60 and older, active-duty, retired or veteran military members and SLC faculty and staff. SLC students receive free admission with a valid institutional ID. Ticket fees are added at checkout, and the Dugan Wellness Center is a cashless venue.
Support UTRGV Vaqueros™ |
Become a Fan on Facebook |
Follow us on Twitter |
Follow us on Instagram |
Follow us on YouTube
