Freshman middle blocker Kendra Butler contributed nine kills in Friday's matchup against the University of the Southwest in Hobbs, N.M.—Sarah Brady photo
Box Score Hobbs, N.M.—Panhandle State volleyball traveled out of state for an NAIA matchup against the University of the Southwest Friday evening. The Aggies sat with a 1-8 record prior to the game, but fell in four sets (25-14, 25-16, 26-24, 25-19) to the 12-4 Mustangs.
USW took the first two sets by comfortable margins winning by 11 points, 25-14, in set one and nine points, 25-16, in set two. However, the Aggies came back with a battle in the third and earned the victory in extra points, 26-24. Set four saw a competitive contest between the two teams, but the Mustangs pulled out the home-court win, outscoring the Aggies 25-19 in the end.
The Aggies averaged .014 in hitting percentage for the match, while the Mustangs hit at .157 percent over four sets. Defensively USW dominated out-blocking the Aggies 12 to 3; the Mustang's leading blocker, Shelby Bartley brought down four solos and two assists.
Julia Ibarra,
Bristen Graves and
Kendra Butler were each credited with one block apiece for the Aggies.
Butler and Kayln Moore combined for 18 of Panhandle's 32 total kills with nine each; Freshman
Jennifer Cabeen was close behind with eight kills for the match. Southwest's Lee Ann Ocasio held a game-high of 12 kills followed by Bartley who totaled ten. Moore also served up one of Panhandle's three aces in the game, while their opponents took six service aces, but committed 11 errors on the serve. Ibarra also offered 28 assists and 12 digs, along with
Abigail Reinick and Moore who managed 13 and 14 digs respectively.
Head Coach
Mike Stephens offered his thoughts after the game, "We played well in sets three and four, but couldn't overcome our sluggish start. Moving forward, we need to play at a high level regardless of our opponent." With the loss the Aggies fall to a 1-9 overall record, while the Mustangs improved to 12-5 for the season.
The Aggies will open Heartland Conference play this week with back-to-back matches starting with a Thursday night game against Newman at 7 p.m. On Friday, Panhandle State will take on UA-Fort Smith at 6:30 p.m. Both contests will take place in the Oscar Williams Field House.
