Women's Volleyball | 10/15/2017 2:03:00 PM
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Goodwell, Okla.—Two Sooner Athletic Conference contest yielded one win for Panhandle State Volleyball. The Aggies split a weekend series on their home court, taking a 3-1 loss on Friday to a top-ranked Oklahoma City team before battling back for an SAC victory 3-0 over Central Christian College on Saturday.
A sluggish start on Friday led to losses in two consecutive sets 25-12 to the Stars. The Aggies rallied in set three to take a 25-23 win, but fell short the fourth, being defeated 25-9 by OCU. Senior setter
Julia Ibarra broke out with a double-double performance, fielding 16 digs and 24 assists in the game. Ibarra added four points with two kills and two service aces as well.
Panhandle's leading hitters for the match were
Kendra Butler,
Kayln Moore and
Essence Kays. Moore returned for the first time after an injury at the beginning of the season; she totaled eight kills, matched by Butler who also scored on eight attacks and two service aces. Kays put up eight points on seven kills and two block assists. Libero
McKenna Clement brought up 16 digs to sharer the game-high with Ibarra.
Saturday's pairing had the Aggies meet with another 5-13 team from the Sooner Athletic Conference, Central Christian College. Showing tenacity and focus throughout the match, the Aggies fought back from a four-point deficit in the first set to notch a 25-21 victory over the Tigers. The second set was all Aggies as the team took a 25-16 win; a 5-0 start off the serves of
Julia Ibarra helped the Aggies hold a healthy lead throughout the set. CCC threatened in the third, but the back and forth contest shifted as another strong service behind the line by Ibarra aided the Aggies on a seven-point stretch to help clinch a conference win with a 25-23 win in set three.
A true team effort saw the Aggies hitting at over 50 percent for the game.
Kendra Butler brought her second consecutive game to hit over .500. The sophomore scored 20 points on 15 kills, four service aces and two block assists.
Essence Kays was the team's second-highest scorer, accumulating ten points on nine kills, one solo block and two assists. Ibarra held the game-high in assists with 36 and caught the Tigers looking with two service aces. Freshman
Kylie Hixson assisted on defense with 14 digs, landing just three less than libero
McKenna Clement who received 17 digs.
Head Coach
Matt Heffner is happy to see his team working together through tough situations stating, "We ended the weekend playing some great volleyball and showing good progress for the upcoming weeks Sooner Athletic Conference matches."
With three matches on the road this week, Panhandle State Volleyball will meet with two SAC teams. A tri-match in Chickasha on Tuesday, Oct. 17 brings the Aggies to the court with the University of Science and Arts (4 p.m.) and non-conference opponents from Randall University (6 p.m.). On Saturday, the team travels to Oklahoma City to take on Mid-America Christian at Noon.
