PRAIRIE VIEW, TX -- In a challenging non-conference confrontation on Thursday night, the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers faced a tough defeat at the hands of the A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders at Prairie View, TX. The Lady Panthers struggled to claim any sets, ultimately falling 3-0 (16-25, 17-25, 16-25).
The opening set saw the Lady Panthers put up a spirited fight, but they trailed with a score of 16-25. The subsequent sets mirrored this pattern, with Prairie View scoring 17 and 16 in the second and third sets, respectively, conceding 25 points to the Islanders. The consistency of Prairie View's effort was evident, though not enough to secure a win.
Top performances were seen from Kylee Owens, Leila Smalls, and Janyah Henderson, who led the team with significant kills. In the defense department, Kiersten Atkinson, Iyonna Sherwood, and again Smalls stood out with notable blocks, showcasing their skills at the net. Prairie View also saw commendable efforts in digs from Jaqueline Nino, Leah Lawson, and Owens, with Nino adding critical aces to her performance. Assists were plentiful, with contributions from Lawson, Nino, MaKinzie Taplin, and Tayler Ruffin.
The match's key moment came in the final play where Kenna Buchanan of Prairie View could not stop a kill by Hadley Burger, set by Kaitlyn Baumann, sealing the win for the Islanders. Looking forward, the Lady Panthers will aim to recoup and refocus as they prepare to face Jackson State on October 6 in Jackson, Miss. With a record of 6-12, including a 3-0 perfect streak in SWAC games, the Lady Panthers are keen to turn their fortunes around in the upcoming games.
Owens finished with seven kills on the day to lead the Lady Panthers offense. got 19 digs from Jaqueline Nino along with six blocks from Kiersten Atkinson to lead them defensively.
Game Notes
» Ruffin had a team-high one ace in the loss.
» Atkinson had a match-high six blocks.
» Owens had a team-high seven kills for Prairie View A&M.
» Prairie View A&M got a match-high 19 digs from Nino.
» Prairie View A&M attackers were helped by a team-high 12 assists from Lawson.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Lady Panthers found themselves in an early deficit, losing a tough first set 25-16. Prairie View A&M trailed by as many as nine points as Texas A&M-CC grabbed the advantage for good at 2-1 in a set that was knotted up two times before the Islanders took control.
SET 2 | A 25-17 second-set loss put Prairie View A&M in a 2-0 hole in the match. Prairie View A&M trailed by as many as eight points as Texas A&M-CC grabbed the advantage for good at 15-14 in a set that was knotted up five times before the Islanders took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 3 | Prairie View A&M couldn't prolong the match and lost in set number three. The Lady Panthers lost a tough set 25-16. Prairie View A&M trailed by as many as nine points as Texas A&M-CC grabbed the advantage for good at 2-1 in a set that was knotted up just once before the Islanders took over the lead.
