PEORIA, Illinois – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team will hit the road for the CEFCU Invitational being hosted by Bradley at the Renaissance Coliseum.

Two more first-time opponents mark a doubleheader start to the tournament for UTRGV (3-5) as it begins play with Bradley (4-5) on Friday at noon before playing Lindenwood (7-2) at 5 p.m. On Saturday, the Vaqueros will close out the tournament with New Mexico State (6-4) at 11 a.m.

The meeting with Bradley will be the first in program history. The last time the Vaqueros have played in Illinois was October 17, 2019, when UTRGV defeated Chicago State 3-0. The evening match with Lindenwood will also be a new opponent for UTRGV. The Vaqueros are 0-2 against first-time opponents this season.

On Saturday, UTRGV will play a former Western Athletic Conference foe in New Mexico State. The two teams have faced each other 26 times with the last matchup happening on October 10, 2022, when the Vaqueros defeated the Aggies 3-2 in Edinburg. New Mexico State leads the overall series 21-5, however UTRGV has won two straight.

One thing to watch this weekend will be the hitting percentage stat. When UTRGV is hitting above .200, it holds a 3-0 record this season. Defensively, in all of those wins, it has also held opponents to below .200 hitting percentage, meaning the team to a .200 hitting percentage could predict the winner. Middle blocker Julianna Bryant leads the Vaqueros in hitting percentage this season at .278. The team leader in kills, Ema Petkovic, currently ranks second on the with a .228 efficiency.

Last Time Out 
UTRGV
- The Vaqueros enter this weekend with a record of 3-5 after dropping two of three at the Red Raider Classic in Lubbock. Middle blocker Aaliyah Snead earned All-Tournament Team honors. Petkovic totaled 33 kills over three matches, and she tied her career high with 18 kills against Texas Tech. Petkovic added nine more service ace in Lubbock and now ranks second in the country at 0.89 service aces per set. Bryant recorded 12 total blocks at the tournament, including a season-high six blocks against Texas Tech. Lana Rnjak had 30 assists against Prairie View A&M and now has at least 30 assists in five of her eight matches played.

Bradley 
- Bradley is 4-5 to open the season after dropping a pair of five-setters at the Loyola Invitational on September 11. The Braves are 1-3 in matches that go to a fifth set this season and have yet to finish in four sets. Gracie Furlong leads the attack with an average of 3.89 kills/set and has 50 more kills than her nearest teammate. The Braves like to keep the ball up, averaging 15.37 digs/set, ranking 38th in the country.

Lindenwood
- Lindenwood is off to a strong start with a 7-2 overall record. The Lions have yet to play at home this season and are 4-1 in neutral-site matches. As a team, Lindenwood averages 13.56 kills/set, which ranks tied for 45th. Kaci Johnson has 320 assists this season and is distributing the ball to five different attackers who are hitting above .250 this season.

New Mexico State
- The Aggies are 6-4 to begin the year after a 2-1 weekend at the Borderland Classic. In the final match of the tournament, NM State hit .517 in the third set to earn the sweep over Pacific.  New Mexico State is looking to snap a two-match losing skid to UTRGV.

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