Junior setter Julia Ibarra served up three aces against TAMIU Thursday night in the Aggies' road game in Laredo.—Sage Kinsey photo
Box Score Laredo, Texas—Panhandle State Volleyball falls to 3-21 on the season after taking a 3-0 loss to Texas A&M-International Thursday evening in Laredo.
The Dustdevils added their second win of the season (2-17) by defeating the Aggies in three sets 25-20, 25-14 and 25-20. Panhandle battled back from an 11-7 deficit in set one, winning seven straight points to take a 14-11 lead midway through the game. The Aggies held the advantage through an 18-18 tie but TAMIU took the victory with the help of four kills and a service ace at the end of the set.
In set two the Aggies held on through a 12-12 score tie, but five straight errors helped pull the Dustdevils ahead by eight points 20-12, a deficit that Panhandle was unable to overcome with only five kills in the set. Despite getting off to a good start in the third set, the Aggies got behind after another 12-12 tie when TAMIU's Alexis Villa served three aces on the Aggies who then found themselves trailing 18-12. The Dustdevils earned the second Heartland Conference victory after the 25-20 win in set three, while the Aggies are still searching for a win within the league.
For the game freshman Kendra Butler led the Aggies in kills with six and TAMIU's Ramey Gardner held the game-high in scoring with ten kills. The Aggies finished with a negative hitting percentage (-.033) totaling 21 errors on the attack. TAMIU totaled 15 attack errors in the game for a .169 hitting percentage. The Dustdevils also out-served the Aggies earning nine points on aces while the Aggies finished with five service aces led by Julia Ibarra who scored on three. Ibarra also tied with TAMIU's Victoria Zamora for the game-high in assists, each totaling 15 sets. Panhandle's Jessica Taylor held the game-high in digs with 14.
The Aggies will travel to San Antonio, Texas this weekend for a Saturday matchup against St. Mary's at Noon. The team will return to the Oscar Williams Field House next week for the Fifth Annual Halloween Spiketacular on Thursday, Nov. 3 when the Aggies take on St. Edward's at 7 p.m. The last home game of the season will be Saturday, Nov. 5 when seniors will be recognized prior to the 12 p.m. first serve against Dallas Baptist.
