PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The start of Southwestern Athletic Conference play Tuesday brought out the best performance of Prairie View A&M's young volleyball team this season, which dropped an emotional and hard-fought match to Texas Southern.
The Lady Tigers took the match by scores of 25-18, 25-15, 15-25, and 27-25.
Randi Hunter knocked down a career-high 12 kills and hit .417 to lead the Lady Panthers (0-17), who won their first set of the season.
MoKeysha Shanklin added 10 kills for Prairie View A&M, while teammate
Calli Jordan Hensch finished one kill shy of a double-double, tallying career-bests of nine kills and 12 digs.
Kali Fluke led Texas Southern (4-12, 2-1 SWAC West) with 18 kills and a .455 hitting percentage. Robyn Shannon added 15 kills for the Lady Tigers.
The Lady Panthers were competitive in each of the sets, and led 12-7 in the opener before Texas Southern seized momentum with a 9-1 run.
Texas Southern found a resilient Lady Panthers squad waiting for them in set three. Backed by one of the largest home crowds of the season, the Lady Panthers used a 9-3 run in the middle of the third set to take a 16-11 lead. Shanklin knocked down two of her three kills in set three during that run.
The momentum carried over into set four, as the Lady Panthers used a 5-0 run early to take a 9-5 lead. They would build their lead to as many as six points when Hunter knocked down a kill to stretch the PVAMU advantage to 21-15.
But just as the PVAMU faithful were preparing for a set five, the Lady Tigers regrouped and went on a 6-1 run to reclaim a 22-21 lead. TSU blocked three Panther attacks during that run to retake the momentum.
The Lady Panthers held set point at 24-23 when
Paige Chuidian served an ace that TSU libero Allison Woods couldn't return. However, the Lady Tigers responded with two points of their own to hold match point. A kill by
Sydney Walker pulled PVAMU back into a tie before back-to-back kills from Shannon sealed the match.
Chuidian added 11 digs for the Lady Panthers, while Kiso dug nine opposition attacks.
Kira Kirkham tallied 14 assists for PVAMU, while
Marissa Campbell knocked down six kills. Hunter led the frontline defense with four blocks – two solo and two assisted.
The Lady Panthers return to action Thursday when they host Grambling State at 6:30 p.m.
MATCH NOTES: 