\n
\n Story Links
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
LUBBOCK, Texas\u00a0\u2013 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team will travel to the annual Red Raider Classic for three matches in 24 hours at the United Supermarkets Arena.<\/p>\n
Two years after UTRGV (2-3) hosted Texas Tech (3-2) at the UTRGV Tournament, the Vaqueros will travel to a tournament hosted by the Red Raiders to play the hosts, Portland State (2-4), and Prairie View A&M (0-6).<\/p>\n
The Vaqueros will open the tournament with the Red Raiders on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. Texas Tech has won all 12 meetings between the two sides, but the last two matches have gone to five sets. Later that evening, the Vaqueros will see the Portland State Vikings for the first time in program history. Last year, UTRGV went 3-2 against first-time opponents.<\/p>\n
The Vaqueros will take on Prairie View A&M for the 53rd time in series history Friday at 10:30 a.m. The two teams have not met since 2023 at the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament in Houston, Texas. UTRGV has won 25 straight matchups with the Panthers and seven straight by way of sweep. Portland State Prairie View A&M Support UTRGV Volleyball<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Become a Fan on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on Twitter<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on YouTube<\/a>
\n\u00a0
\nLast Time Out\u00a0
\nUTRGV
\n– The Vaqueros won their lone home match across the first 12 games of their schedule over Texas Southern 3-0. Ema Petkovic<\/a> was the leading force for UTRGV as she led the team with 17 kills and 13 digs, her first-career double-double. With two service aces, Petkovic now leads the country in service aces per set at 0.93. Lana Rnjak<\/a> continued to spread the ball around the court, racking up 37 assists on the evening, her fourth game this season with at least 30 assists.
\n\u00a0
\nTexas Tech\u00a0
\n– The Red Raiders are coming off a 2-1 outing at the Sacramento State Invitational. Tech battled to a 3-1 win over St. Mary’s in the opening match of the tournament before falling to Sacramento State 3-0. The Red Raiders avoided a reverse sweep in the final match of the tournament, outlasting Nevada 3-2. Outside hitter Sara Bowcutt and middle blocker Shelby Ignash both received all-tournament team nods for their performances.<\/p>\n
\n– The Vikings are hoping to ride a win at the end of the NIU Tournament that saw them pick up a 3-0 sweep over Murray State. The first two matches of the tournament were not in their favor as they fell to both Lindenwood and Northern Illinois. This will be the second consecutive trip for Portland State into the central time zone where it is 1-3 so far this season. In the win over Murray State, the Vikings had their best hitting percentage since Nov. 10, 2022, at .360. Ashley Repetti led the way with 10 kills while hitting .400, earning first-team all-tournament honors.<\/p>\n
\n– The Panthers are still searching for their first win of 2026 after a 2025 campaign that saw them go 18-12. Most recently, Prairie View A&M was at the Georgia Southern Tourney where it dropped matches to Radford, Georgia Southern, Eastern Kentucky. Middle Iyonna Sherwood has been a bright spot for the Panthers in their last four matches, totaling 36 kills and hitting .318. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n