EDINBURG, Texas -- The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team heads south for a non-conference meeting with UT Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) on Tuesday. First serve is set for 6 p.m. (CT). This will be the third true road match for the Cardinals, having played Tulane and Texas State earlier this year in tournament action. It will also be the first match outside of a tournament setting for UIW.
 
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LAST TIME OUT

• The Cardinals are coming off of an 0-3 showing at the Creeds & Crests Classic in San Marcos, Texas.
• UIW ended the tournament with its best defensive performance of the season. The team set a new season-best in holding Texas State to a .262 hitting percentage, while tying its season-high mark of eight total blocks (also at Tulane, 8/25).
• Freshman setters Pilar Gonzaba and Kendall Kilchrist combined for 74 assists over nine sets. Gonzaba set her new season-high in assists (25) against UTSA (8/31) before Kilchrist did the same (also 25 assists) while playing Texas State (9/1).
• UIW enjoyed a balanced attack in its match against Texas State. Freshman Bethany Clapp made nine kills, while senior outside hitter Autumn Lockley and sophomore outside hitter Julia Monday each added eight. This marked the second time this season that at least three players registered eight or more kills in the same match (Lockley, Clapp and Carissa McGarity vs. Louisiana on 8/24).
• Monday finished with a career-best .500 hitting percentage against Texas State. She surpassed her previous high (.321) set against Southeastern Louisiana in 2017.
• Sophomore defensive specialist Madelynn Miller led the way with 35 digs over the weekend.

SEASON OF AUTUMN

• Lockley leads the team with 66 kills, the second most kills in the Southland.
• She finished last weekend with a team-leading 29 kills, 25 digs (second on the team), five total blocks and three assists. Those five blocks all came against Texas State, marking a season high and the most she's had since November,2016 (at HBU).
• The pre-season All-Southland Conference selection earned her first double-double of the season against JMU (11 kills, 12 digs). That performance gave her 29 career double-doubles, the most career double-doubles of any player since UIW joined Division I.

LET'S CLAPP FOR THE FRESHMAN

• Clapp is off to one of the best offensive starts for a freshman since UIW joined Division I.
• She enters Tuesday ranked second on the team with 45 kills and has a team-leading .262 hitting percentage. That percentage is the best of any UIW freshman student-athlete in their first six matches since the program moved to DI – next best is 2013-16 outside hitter Shaina Garza with a .201 percentage in 2013.
• Clapp currently sits third in the conference among freshman in hitting percentage, while having the least amount of attack errors of all qualifying freshman* (12).

SCOUTING UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY

• The Vaqueros (4-3) enter play after going 1-2 at the Utah State Tournament in Logan, Utah. They earned a victory over host Utah State (1-5) before failing to win a set against No. 24 Cal Poly (5-1) and Loyola Marymount (5-1).
• Barbara Silva leads UTRGV with 88 kills and a .276 attack percentage through the seven matches.
• This will be the 12th meeting between the two schools – UTRGV leads the all-time series, 6-5.

 
UP NEXT
The Cardinals open their home slate with a Sept. 7 matchup against UT Arlington. The contest against the Mavericks is slated for a 6 p.m. first serve in the McDermott Convocation Center. The following weekend (Sept. 14-15) hosts the UIW Cardinals Classic, welcoming Eastern Washington and Alcorn State for the final non-conference tournament before Southland Conference play begins.

 
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