EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) volleyball team drew the fourth-largest crowd in program history with 1,418 fans in a 0-3 (20-25, 22-25, 24-26) loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown on Tuesday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

UTRGV (5-6) wins the attendance point 1,418-450, meaning UTRGV’s lead over Corpus Christi (7-4) in the showdown standings is now 7-6.

Senior Barbara Silva led UTRGV with 17 kills on .424 hitting. Junior Veronika Jandova recorded eight kills with three blocks.

Kylie Flipiak led Corpus Christi with 13 kills on .591 hitting. Madison Green recorded nine kills, 34 assists and four digs.

Corpus Christi led 7-0 out of the gate in the first set. UTRGV responded with a 9-3 run, powered by three Silva kills, to pull within one before Corpus Christi went on an 8-4 run to go up 18-13. UTRGV climbed to within 18-20 on a Jandova kill, but that’s as close as they got.

The second set was tied at 3 when Corpus Christi went on a 14-5 run to go up 17-8. Three kills and a block by Jandova helped UTRGV go on an 11-2 run to tie the set at 19. UTRGV took its first lead of the match on a block by Jandova and junior Debora Nazario that made the score 21-20 before Corpus Christi won the next three serves to take the lead in the set for good.

The third set was within one for the first 16 serves, but with the score tied at 8, Corpus Christi scored four out of five points to take the lead. Corpus Christi led by as much as four at 16-12 before UTRGV went on a 6-2 run to tie the set on a kill by junior Los Fresnos alum Jackie Kingsbury. UTRGV took a 20-19 lead on a kill by junior Sarah Cruz, a 21-20 lead on a Nazario kill, and a 22-21 lead on an error. Corpus Christi reached match point at 24-23 before a Cruz kill tied the set. After a Chloe Simon kill, though, an error ended the match.

UTRGV hosts the UTRGV Tournament start Friday with matches against Texas Southern at 1:30 p.m. and Washington State, which is receiving votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, at 7 p.m.