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NEW ORLEANS – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team will look to bounce back Saturday when it faces the LSU New Orleans Privateers in Southland Conference (SLC) action. First serve from the Human Performance Center is set for 1 p.m.
The Vaqueros (12-8, 8-1 SLC) rallied from a 2-0 deficit against Southeastern on Thursday before falling 3-2. Outside hitter Martina Franco had a career-high 21 kills and added 11 digs for her seventh consecutive double-double, leading UTRGV with 81 attacks – the third-most in a match in program history. Middle blocker Aaliyah Snead set a career-high in kills with 16, hitting .519. Setter Lana Rnjak had a career-high with 54 assists. Senior libero Celianiz Cabranes led the defense with a season-high 22 digs. Freshman outside hitter Soukeyna Diouf added nine kills and defensive specialist and Brownsville St. Joseph alum Carmina Tijerina chipped in 12 digs.
The Privateers (2-20, 0-9 SLC) lost 3-0 to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Thursday. All three sets were competitive with the Privateers scoring at least 20 points in each. Armie Hall led the attack with 12 kills, hitting .440 and adding four blocks. Ryan Williams nearly had a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs. Nyakuak Lual had seven total blocks, and Vladana Ristic collected 10 digs.
LSU New Orleans leads the all-time series over UTRGV 17-4, though the Vaqueros have won four of the last five matchups. Last season, UTRGV defeated the Privateers 3-1 in Edinburg behind 16 kills and six blocks by redshirt junior middle blocker Julianna Bryant. The Vaqueros had 17 aces in that match, which is tied for the third-most in program history. UTRGV has won the last two meetings in New Orleans.
Cabranes continues to climb the career digs leaderboard at UTRGV. She had 22 digs against Southeastern on Thursday, her 20th match with 20 or more, which ties the program record. She now has 1,191 career digs and moved up two spots to fourth in program history. She trails record holder Jaclyn Muszynski by 196 digs.
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