CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team is heading to Corpus Christi to face Texas State and UTEP in a pair of neutral-site matches at the Dugan Wellness Center as part of the Southwest Showdown.
This is the third year in a row UTRGV (0-2) will face the Texas State Bobcats (1-1) and UTEP Miners (1-1) in this tournament. The Southwest Showdown is a four-year traveling event between the three aforementioned teams and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The first edition was hosted by UTEP, the second by UTRGV, and the third will be hosted by the Islanders.
UTRGV and Texas State will battle Friday at 3:30 p.m. The Vaqueros are 1-21 all-time against the Bobcats with the lone winning coming in 2002. Texas State swept the Vaqueros when these teams played in the first Southwest Showdown and defeated UTRGV 3-1 last season.
The Vaqueros are 1-18 all-time against the Miners, who they'll face at 11 a.m. Saturday. Last season in Edinburg, UTEP swept UTRGV, and in the first year of the tournament the Miners beat the Vaqueros, 3-1. This will be the first neutral-site match in the series since 2010. UTRGV's lone win over UTEP came in 2003.
Last Time Out
UTRGV
- The Vaqueros opened the season with a pair of matches at West Virginia's Country Roads Challenge. UTRGV lost to West Virginia, 3-1, in the first match, then was defeated 3-0 by UMBC.
Martina Franco paced the attack with 3.57 kills per set while
Ema Petkovic added 2.71 kills per set and served five aces.
Lana Rnjak was the primary setter, averaging 7.43 assists per set, but the Vaqueros did utilize a 6-2 offense at times. Defensively, Franco and
Celianiz Cabranes racked up 1.86 and 2.14 digs/set, respectively.
Texas State
- The Bobcats hosted the Texas State Invitational opening weekend. They fell to Oklahoma, 3-0, in the season opener before sweeping Louisiana, 3-0, on Sunday. Outside hitter
Brooke Bentke led the Bobcats averaging 3.17 kills per set.
Anna Blaine ran the offense and dished out 7.67 assists/set. Defensively,
Jasmine Purakal racked up 3.00 digs/set while Texas State's block was good for 2.58 blocks/set, led by eight blocks from
India Bennett and another seven from Bentke.
UTEP
- The Miners opened the season at the NMSU Volleyball Jamboree. Both matches went the distance as UTEP opened the season falling 3-2 to Tulsa and defeating New Mexico State 3-2.
