Itta Bena, Miss. - The Prairie View A&M volleyball team endured their first taste of defeat against SWAC opposition dropping a 3-1 (25-19, 25-27, 23-25, 19-25) contest at the hands of Mississippi Valley State University at the R.W. Harrison Complex.

Despite the loss, the Lady Panthers found success from their middle blockers as SWAC Player of the Week Sharonda Marshall continued her offensive flurry by recording a game-high 23 kills on a .261 hitting percentage, while posting one dig, and five blocks. Junior Jasmine Houston followed with 16 kills and finished with a .423 hitting percentage. Setter Erin Fondel recorded a game-high 52 assists as she led the Lady Panther attack to a total of 60 kills.

The Devilettes were led by Lonnie Hoff's 18 kills, 10 digs, and one block as well as Brychana Wiliams' 11 kills and 13 digs.

“Offensively, we had great production from our middle blockers and setter but failed to find any outside hitters to step up to the plate,” said head coach Alicia Pete. “Defensively, we lacked communication which showed our inability to closeout MVSU. Consistent team defense is critical from night-to-night if you want to be successful at any level.”

Defensively, Prairie View's front row posted a total of 12 blocks, led by Marshall's four block assists and one solo block. Sophomore Breanna McNeil got in the action recording three block assists. In the back row, Jasmine Hales led the way by recording 22 digs.

In spite of Prairie View's slow start in set one, the Lady Panthers were able to bounce back and capture the set 25-19. Set two had a different twist as it showed to be the turning point of the match with its back-and-forth finish that could have taken a turn in any favor of either squad. Midway through the set tied at 18, Prairie View was able to use a 5-3 run to take a 23-21 lead. In search of their final two points, Prairie View was unable to find an offensive spark to clinch the match allowing the Devilettes to crawl back into the ball game as they tied it at 25. Two final Prairie View errors gave MVSU the edge knotting the series up at 1-1.

In similar fashion, set three and four went the distance as Mississippi Valley was able to control and dictate the flow of the match in the closing points giving Prairie View their first loss in conference play. With the win the Devilettes improve to 20-7 overall and 2-3 in division play as the Lady Panthers fall to 9-15 on the season.

The Lady Panthers wrap up their three-game road trip as they're set to take on Jackson State on Oct. 29. The first serve is set for 7 p.m.