HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Prairie View A&M volleyball team dropped a pair of contests to conclude play in the 42^nd Annual Bearkat Invitational hosted by Sam Houston State.

The Lady Panthers fell in three sets to Oral Roberts before coming up short in a hard-fought four-set affair to eventual invitational champion Louisiana Tech.

"In the first match we were sluggish but turned it on late against ORU," said head PVAMU volleyball coach TaCho Tyler.  La Tech was currently undefeated in the tournament and we competed each set against them and claimed one set.  This weekend was a testament to a solid foundation in which to build on."

PVAMU 0, Oral Roberts 3 (16-25, 16-25, 23-25)
After falling behind 8-2 in set one, the Lady Panthers regrouped to the tune of an 8-4 run to pull within two. However, Prairie View A&M surrendered 10 of the frame's next 13 points, as Oral Roberts hit .324 on its way to a set one win.

Though a slow start derailed them in set two, the Lady Panthers (0-3) stormed out of the gate in set three with a 4-1 run, but the advantage was short lived. With the set tied 16-16, Oral Roberts pulled ahead with a 6-2 spurt. Prairie View A&M managed to get within one, but untimely errors on serve prevented the Lady Panthers from extending the match to a fourth frame.

Junior middle blocker Victoria Pearson posted seven kills and three block assists to lead Prairie View A&M in its first match of the day. Freshman right side hitter Cyndi Miller, junior outside hitter Tamaria Armstrong and senior outside hitter Jaylan Thomas each put away four kills.

Laura Shoopman and CeCe Madison led ORU with 11 kills each.

PVAMU 1, Louisiana Tech 3 (20-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-27)
The Lady Panthers controlled matters throughout much of the first set, but miscues allowed the Lady Techsters to stay in striking distance. Prairie View A&M built an 18-17 lead after a Thomas kill, but allowed an 8-1 run as Louisiana Tech's Kaitlyn Adams – who led all players with 20 kills – accounted for three of the Lady Techsters' final five points of the set.

A back-and-forth second set began leaning the Lady Panthers' way late, but a 19-17 lead turned into a 23-17 Louisiana Tech advantage thanks to a quartet of misfires from the Lady Panthers. Prairie View A&M was unable to rebound, falling into a 0-2 hole.

The third set featured a role reversal, as the Lady Panthers had to overcome a strong start by the Lady Techsters. Down 14-12, Prairie View A&M put together a dominant 13-3 run to take the set, with multiple kills from Thomas, Armstrong and junior right side hitter Cetara Carter powering the way.

Prairie View A&M appeared poised to tie the match after building a 22-17 lead, but Lady Panther errors in the attack game sparked a 6-0 run for Louisiana Tech. The Lady Panthers staved off two match point tries, but ultimately was unable to prolong the match.

Prairie View A&M outhit Louisiana Tech .227 to .221. Thomas led the team with 13 kills, and Carter and Pearson each added 10. Junior setter Erica Jimenez (16 assists, 10 digs) and freshman setter Jakarta Hope (20 assists, 13 digs) each posted double-doubles.

Next up:
Prairie View A&M will have a couple of days off before its home opener versus Houston Baptist on Sept. 3. Start time is set for 6:30 p.m.

 

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