BOXSCORE
The Prairie View A&M volleyball team gave Houston Baptist a run for its money Tuesday night in its home-opener at the William Nicks Building. The Lady Panthers dropped the match 3-1 to HBU, but each set with down to the wire (25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21).
 
In a night when the team effort outshined individual performances, the Lady Panthers proved to be able to play up to the level Houston Baptist in front of a rowdy crowd of 373 people. Houston Baptist won the first two sets by a total of nine points, surviving a second-set rally by the Lady Panthers to take it 25-21.
 
Prairie View A&M, however, found a grove in set the third set. Led by an aggressive Breanna McNeil, the Lady Panthers jumped out to a 7-3 lead to catch the Huskies off balance. The Lady Panthers survived a 5-3 HBU run and countered with an 8-3 run of their own to take an 18-11 lead. Prairie View A&M would maintain its lead in the third set, despite pressure by the Huskies to win 25-22. McNeil had four of her 11 kills in that set. Senior right side Bruna Menezes finished second behind McNeil with nine kills for the Lady Panthers.
 
Defensively, Prairie View A&M fought to stay within striking distance of HBU in the fourth and final set, but fell short. HBU senior outside hitter Heather Leaverton, who finished with 14 kills and 17 digs, and the 6-2 Huskies proved to be too much for the Lady Panthers down the stretch. Sophomore Libero Shanice Faison had a team-high 24 digs, followed by Monecia Preston's 11. Senior setter Kelsey Espinosa had 10 assists.
 
The 2-6 Lady Panthers head to Las Vegas to participate in the UNLV Invite on the Nevada-Las Vegas campus from Sept. 7-8.