BATON ROUGE, LA -- In a gripping SWAC volleyball face-off Sunday, the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers secured a hard-earned victory over the Southern U. Jaguars at Baton Rouge, LA. Despite a rocky start, the Lady Panthers rallied to clinch the win with a final score of 3-1 on the road at Seymour Gymnasium.
The victory improved the Lady Panthers' record to 12-15 overall and 9-3 in SWAC action. The Prairie View A&M team showed resilience after dropping the first set 23-25 to the Jaguars. However, the Lady Panthers made a formidable comeback, winning the subsequent sets 25-19, 25-19, and a nail-biting 25-20 in the fourth set, securing the victory. The match concluded with a match-winning kill by Janyah Henderson, a key moment that emphasized the squad's spirited performance.
The Lady Panthers' offensive strength was on full display, with standout performances from Bailee Hewitt, who led the attackers with 11 kills while finishing with a hitting percentage of .258, followed by Aliyah Levert and Janyah Henderson with 8 and 7 kills respectively. Defensive prowess was anchored by Jade Coates, who contributed significantly with 4 blocks, supported by Kylee Owens and D'Mya Hill. Defensively, three players reached double figures in digs, with the backcourt battle being led by Leila Smalls with an impressive 15 digs, 10 from Kylee Owens, and 10 more from Makinzie Taplin.
In addition to kills, several players made notable contributions across other statistics. Janyah Henderson also impressed with 3 aces, while MaKinzie Taplin and Tayler Ruffin orchestrated the offense with 15 and 12 assists, respectively.
They look forward to their next challenge against Alcorn State on November 4, 2024, in Lorman, Miss., aiming to continue their successful run in the conference.
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Game Notes
» Prairie View A&M had three players in double figures in digs.
» Henderson had a match-high three aces in the win.
» Prairie View A&M never trailed on the way to winning the second set 25-19.
» Prairie View A&M never trailed on the way to winning the third set 25-19.
» Hewitt had a team-high 11 kills for Prairie View A&M.
» Prairie View A&M got a match-high 15 digs from Smalls.
» Prairie View A&M attackers were helped by a match-high 17 assists from Ruffin.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Lady Panthers rallied from a seven-point 18-11 hole, but Southern hung on to win the first set 25-23.
SET 2 | Prairie View A&M responded to pick up a 25-19 victory in set two, evening the match at one set apiece. The Lady Panthers scored first and never trailed in the set to earn the victory. Prairie View A&M opened up as much as a seven-point lead at 16-9 before finishing off the set. The Prairie View A&M offense also got a boost from four aces in the stanza.
SET 3 | Prairie View A&M went ahead 2-1 in the match after taking down the Lady Jaguars in set three. The Lady Panthers scored first and never trailed in the set to earn a 25-19 victory. Prairie View A&M opened up as much as a six-point lead at 16-10 before finishing off the set. The Prairie View A&M offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
SET 4 | Prairie View A&M claimed a match win with a 25-20 fourth-set victory, winning their third set in a row. The Lady Panthers took the lead for good at 14-13 after fighting back from a two-point deficit, the Lady Jaguar's largest lead of the set. This came in a set that featured eight ties and five lead changes. The Lady Panthers win came in a stanza where 17 of their 25 points came via the kill.
