Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score San Antonio, Texas—After getting off to a sluggish start with a 25-8 loss in set one, the Aggies bounced back with big effort in sets two and three, but were unable to attain a Heartland Conference win on the road over St. Mary's, who took the three-set victory (25-8, 25-21, 26-24).

Saturday's first set saw the Panhandle lagging 11-1 to start the day; attack errors by the Aggies aided the Rattler's in earning ten straight points to take a substantial lead early on. Four kills by Kendra Butler and two by senior Emily Goeken were the only points the Aggies would earn on the attack in set one; two ball handling errors by St. Mary's gave the Aggies their other two points in the game.

The Aggies came back in set two and evened the score five times for a battle to the bitter end. Three straight points at the end of the set kept the Aggies within range 23-21, but two Aggie errors put the points on the other end for the 25-21 Rattler victory. Butler totaled five kills for Panhandle in the second set, while Goeken finished with four; Kayln Moore also put up points for the Aggies with three kills.

Bringing an even better performance in set three, the Aggies held the lead throughout most of the game claiming a six-point advantage (19-13) after winning six straight points on two kills, one ace and three errors by the Rattlers. At game-point (24-18) the Aggies lost the ball on a kill and St. Mary's went on to rally for the final eight points to win the set 26-24 and earn their fifth Heartland victory.

For the match Butler and Goeken led the Aggies with 12 kills apiece followed by Kayln Moore who totaled five. The Aggies averaged .103 hitting percentage with the Rattlers averaging .344 for the game. Panhandle's Julia Ibarra led the game in assists with 27 and libero Abigail Reinick held the game-high in digs with 12. The Aggies totaled four service aces, one each by Moore, Ibarra, Jennifer Cabeen and Madison Linton.

Coach Mike Stephens was proud of the come-back efforts by his team saying, "It was great to watch the team compete, encourage and battle during every point."

With the loss the Aggies drop to 3-23 on the season with zero wins within the conference. Three games remain in the regular season with the Aggies hosting their final two home games this week. Thursday the team will take on St. Edward's at 7 p.m. for the Annual Halloween Spiketacular event in the Oscar Williams Field House. Seniors will be recognized prior to Saturday's Noon matchup against Dallas Baptist. Their final game will take place in Lubbock on Thursday, Nov. 10.