PRAIRIE VIEW - The Prairie View A&M volleyball team fell 0-3 in its home opener against Houston Baptist Tuesday evening in the Baby Dome.

"This past weekend, we played very competitive, but tonight we didn't," PVAMU head volleyball coach TaCho Tyler said. "We just didn't show up today as a team."

A back-and-forth affair early on that featured six ties and four lead changes, the Lady Panthers (0-4) took a quick 7-5 lead over the Huskies. After the sides traded points, PVAMU was unable to keep up late in the set, ultimately falling 25-17.

The Lady Panthers opened the second set quickly before falling behind 7-6. PVAMU remained within one of the Huskies, but Houston Baptist (3-1) used an 11-3 run to extend a 9-8 advantage that the Lady Panthers were unable to overcome down the stretch. The Lady Panthers were done in by a sluggish start to the final frame, a 25-11 decision for Houston Baptist.

Junior middle blocker Victoria Pearson led the team with nine kills and one assist. Senior right side hitter Cetara Carter followed with eight kills, and junior outside hitter chipped in five kills. Freshman setter Jakarta Hope contributed 13 assists.

With the setback, Tyler recognizes there's room for improvement heading into the Lady Panthers' second invitational of the season.

"We need to work on executing the game plan and applying what we know in the game," said Tyler. "We need to stay focused."

The volleyball team will return to the court on Friday, Sept. 6 as they participate in the 2019 Katrinka Crawford Invitational hosted by Lamar in Beaumont, Texas.

The first match is set to start at noon as the Lady Panthers face host school Lamar, with a 4 p.m. match against the University of Louisiana at Monroe to follow.
 

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