ARLINGTON, Texas — The Prairie View A&M volleyball team dropped two matches on the opening day of the 2019 Maverick Invite, hosted by the University of Texas at Arlington on Friday.

"The focus has to be to work harder," said head PVAMU volleyball coach TaCho Tyler.  "We need to execute every single moment of each game.  Nothing more and nothing less."

The Lady Panthers fell 3-0 against Chicago State then followed with another 3-0 loss against Stephen F. Austin.

Chicago State 3, PVAMU 0 (21-25, 12-25, 14-25)

The Lady Panthers struck first to open the contest, but the advantage was short-lived, as Chicago State managed to take the upper hand. Though Prairie View A&M trailed closely throughout the period, a late surge from Chicago State ultimately halted PVAMU's comeback attempt.

Facing a 6-1 deficit to begin set two, Prairie View A&M rallied to get within 13-9, but still struggled to counter the Chicago State offense, as the Cougars closed the frame on a 13-3 run.

The third set featured back-and-forth play that resulted in five ties before the Cougars took a 14-12 lead. From there, the Prairie View A&M attack went cold, allowing Chicago State to pull away.

Junior outside hitter Tamaira Armstrong led the team with seven kills, five digs and one assist. Freshman right side hitter Cydni Miller also posted seven kills, along with two digs and one kill. Junior middle blocker Victoria Pearson also contributed with six kills and one block.

SFA 3, PVAMU 0 (21-25, 22-25, 17-25)

Prairie View regrouped for stronger play against the Ladyjacks, leading 12-11 at one point and held it before SFA leaped ahead. The Lady Panthers threatened late, but the Ladyjacks managed to fend off Prairie View A&M down the stretch of set one.

The Lady Panthers were down 5-1 in the second set, but a comeback effort brought them within reach at 12-10. The teams then went on to knot the score six times, the latest coming at 21-21. However, a 4-1 SFA run in the final stages of the frame left PVAMU facing an 0-2 hole. In the third set, aggressive play from both teams resulted in four ties to open the period. PVAMU then fell behind at 8-7, and the team was unable to overtake the Ladyjacks the rest of the way.

Pearson led the team with nine kills, two digs, one assist and one block. Armstrong followed with nine digs, eight kills and one assist. Senior right side hitter CeTara Carter also contributed with eight kills.

The Lady Panthers will continue tournament play with day two of the Maverick Classic on Saturday, as they are set to take on host UT-Arlington at 1:30 p.m. 

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