Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score Goodwell, Okla.—The Aggies earned their first win of the season in a four-set contest with Langston University Monday evening in the Oscar Williams Field House.

Panhandle State's team paid special tribute to the victims, survivors and first responders of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 by wearing red, white and blue camouflage uniforms for the game. They played with pride and grit throughout the match, fighting back from a 25-22 loss in set three to reign triumphant in the end, with winning scores in sets one, two and four of 25-16, 25-18, 25-11.

The Lions got off to a shaky start committing six errors in the first ten plays of the game. Three consecutive kills by Kayln Moore helped the Aggies gain a 10-6 lead, while back-to-back aces served up by Abigail Reinick later in the first set pulled Panhandle to a six-point lead over the Lions (17-11). The Aggies finished strong landing four kills and two more service aces to close out the first set with a 25-16 win. Langston increased their hitting percentage in set two and scored four consecutive points to edge within two points of the Aggies towards the end of the set (17-15). Panhandle held on to take the second set victory by seven points 25-18.

Set three brought excitement and energy to the Oscar Williams Field House with a competitive bout that saw nine score ties, and an aggressive Lion team that only allowed the Aggies to gain the lead twice in the set. The Aggies held the upper-hand through the first five points (3-2), but Langston went on to score off five Aggie errors advancing the Lions to an 8-5 lead early in the set. A back-and-forth battle ensued as both teams fought for sideouts. Panhandle managed a one-point advantage after an ace on the serve by Jennifer Cabeen broke a 17-17 tie that came on the heels of three consecutive service errors. Cabeen's second serve brought the ninth and final tied score of the match as an attack error on the Aggies gave the ball back to the Lions. Although the Aggies came one point within striking-distance (22-21) on an ace by Julia Ibarra, and again at 23-22 with a kill by Emily Goeken, the Lions held on through the final two points for the 25-22 win to force a fourth set.

The Aggies made quick work of the Lions in the fourth set giving up only 11 points on three kills and seven errors to their opponent. Panhandle came through with five service aces, six kills and two blocks to notch the 25-11 victory and their first win of the season. Kayln Moore held the game-high in kills with 14 followed by Langston's leading scorer Amber Warren with eight. Setter Julia Ibarra earned another game-high for the Aggies with 26 assists and marked a team-high of 12 digs, second only to Kori Williams from Langston who totaled 13. Five service aces in the fourth set led to a team total of 12 aces over the match for Panhandle; Kayln Moore, Julia Ibarra, Kendra Butler, Abigail Reinick and Bristen Graves each accounted for two throughout the game. Defensively the Lions led with eight team blocks while the Aggies had three, two of which were credited to Emily Goeken as solo blocks.

Coach Mike Stephens was proud of the effort and improvement he saw in Monday's matchup saying, "This was truly a team effort as everyone saw game time. We executed far better this match than we had in previous matches. We will work towards a similar outcome on this Friday as we travel to play USW. We hope to have some momentum built as we enter conference matches next week."

Later this week the Aggies will travel to Hobbs, N.M. for a non-conference contest against the University of the Southwest on Friday, Sept. 16. Heartland Conference action will kick off the following week as the Aggies host last year's league runners up from Newman on Thursday, Sept. 22 in the Oscar Williams Field House; game time is set for 7 p.m.