BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –Prairie View A&M volleyball opens the season tomorrow afternoon as it welcomes Incarnate Word to The Hill for a 4 p.m. clash in the Baby Dome.
Panther News and Notes:
Tabbed to finish first in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Preseason Poll, the Lady Panthers return the majority of its 2019 team that went 17-22 (14-4 SWAC) and advanced to the SWAC Volleyball Championship Match. Highlighting the batch of returnees are outside hitter Tamaira Armstrong, middle blocker Victoria Pearson, setter Jakarta Hope and libero Skyla Childs, all of whom received preseason All-SWAC honors.
Pearson led the Lady Panthers with 375 kills and 439 total points. Armstrong ranked eighth in the SWAC in points per set at 3.11 and accounted for 342 kills and 307 digs, both marks ranking second among the Lady Panthers.
Hope dealt 587 total assists in a stellar freshman season, averaging 4.62 helpers per set. She put up 20 service aces and factored in defensively with 218 digs. Childs led the conference in total digs in 2019 as a freshman with 591, a figure that ranked among the nation's top 50.
This will be the first meeting between the teams since 2016.
Scouting the Cardinals:
- The Cardinals finished 7-23 (3-13 Southland) in 2019 and are selected to finish 11th in the Southland Conference's preseason poll.
- Leading the Cardinals offense is outside hitter Bethany Clapp, who put away 320 kills and ranked 10th in the Southland with 3.37 points per set while chipping in 228 digs and 52 total blocks. On the back end, UIW will have an experienced libero in Alyssa Carlin (412 digs in 2019) to anchor the backend. However, UIW must replace four of its top five attackers from the 2019 campaign – a group that accounted for 735 total kills – as well as their leading setter from last season.
- Forward leaps are expected from setter Pilar Gonzaba (475 assists in 2019) and middle blocker Camden Gray (53 kills, 21 total blocks in 2019.
How to Follow:
Live Stats for the match will be available HERE.
Keep up with all the latest news and information for PVAMU athletics by following pvpanthers.com as well as through Twitter via the PVAMU general sports account (@PVAMUPanthers). You can also follow along on Instagram.com/pvamupanthers.
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