BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- A devastating end to Prairie View A&M's comeback season, as they were unable to come out on top in a closer than expected 3-0 outcome against No. 2 seed FAMU. The Lady Panthers fell by the scores of 22-25, 23-25, 23-25 in the first round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament.

Graduating four seniors from last season's semifinal appearance in the SWAC tournament, the Lady Panthers brushed off a rough start to the season, going 8-6 in the second half to notch a spot in the SWAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed, including a 7-4 record against SWAC opponents since October 10^th.

How it Happened:
In the opening set, both teams showed a tenacious desire to win, exchanging 19 lead changes/ties between each other. Neither team could put together a run of more than two or three points at a time, resulting in a narrow 21-20 lead for the Lady Panthers going in the final section. FAMU scored the last 5-of-6 points to steal the first game, 25-22.

The second set was anything but close as the Lady Panthers started out with a 9-3 lead to open things up. Th Lady Rattlers responded in a major way, cutting Prairie View's lead down to just two, before scoring 10 unanswered points to put them up by eight points late into the second onto a 24-15 advantage for FAMU. The Lady Panthers wouldn't be deterred forcing an impressive eight set points before the final nail in the coffin, a kill by one of the Lady Rattlers stamped out the comeback.

In a do-or-die set for the Lady Panthers, FAMU lead mostly throughout, but could never manage to put away the pesky Panthers who never trailed by more than four. Needing just four points for the Lady Rattlers to take the match, an Ashly Ealy kill gave the Lady Panthers life, sparking a trio of kills by sophomore Malia Viernes tied it all up at 21 apiece. Tied once more at 23 a few points later, PV was unable to secure the final points again, falling 23-25 in set three.

As a team, Prairie View managed to have a .299 hitting percentage compared to FAMU's .269 in the game. PV also out blocked the opposition (11-2) and had fewer errors (8-23) than FAMU in the contest.

Post-Game Notes:
-Viernes lead the team with 17 kills
-Kiersten Atkinson ties her career best of five blocks in a game to go along with eight kills
-Second team All-SWAC Jakarta Hope recorded 17 assists

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