EDINBURG, Texas – Coming off a challenging opening weekend, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team will head south to UTRGV on Tuesday to compete in the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union at 6:30 p.m. CT.
The South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, is an annual rivalry series in which A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV compete against each other in 12 sports. As an institution, the Islanders lead the all-time series 5-1 and are ahead 3-0 this year.
This will be the first of two meetings this season between the Islanders (0-3) and the Vanqueros (2-1) in volleyball, where the institutions have a chance to win three points towards the South Texas Showdown in each competition. Last season, the teams went 1-1 against each other with the Islanders winning the extra point in attendance.
"We always look forward to the South Texas Showdown with UTRGV," said head coach
Steve Greene. "They are a very well coached team and we have contrasting styles so it's always exciting and challenging. They have an outstanding hitter and a very creative setter returning. Our team is looking forward to the challenge of a quick turn around after a long weekend and playing against top competition again."
Over the weekend, A&M-Corpus Christi faced No. 1 Nebraska, Pepperdine – who has been receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll – and Tulsa in the Ameritas Players Challenge. Senior
Carissa Barnes had a standout performance against Tulsa where she picked up 45 digs in the match, beating both A&M-Corpus Christi's and Bob Devaney Sports Center's record for most digs in a match, and was selected to the All-Tournament Team.
On the defensive side with Barnes, freshman
Zoria Heard stepped up with 31 digs while sophomore
Kayla White tallied 14 digs and 13 assists. Freshman
Tayah Little put up a big defensive effort at the net, managing 10 blocks over the weekend. Offensively, Little recorded 18 kills behind sophomores
Kyndal Payne with 31 and
Leah Stolfus with 24.
As a team, A&M-Corpus Christi averages 11.9 kills per set and a .164 attack percentage. The Islanders also average 16.2 digs per set compared to their opponents' 15.4.
"We are looking forward to continue to build on our offense," said Greene. "Our defensive effort needs to make some big strides from a few key positions and hopefully we can make those improvements."
UTRGV competed in the North Texas Invite opening weekend, getting wins over Jacksonville and North Texas, dropping only one match to UNLV. The Islanders hold a 27-21 record over the Vanqueros, including a 3-1 win at UTRGV last season.
The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Stay Social
For more information on Islanders Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter (
@IslandersVB), Instagram (
@islandersvb) and like their Facebook page (
Islanders Volleyball).
#ShakasUp
