Women's Volleyball | 8/20/2017 6:29:00 PM
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Box Score 4 Fort Worth, Texas—The Aggies kicked off the 2017 season this weekend, competing in the Sooner-Red River Challenge Aug. 18-19 in Fort Worth, Texas.
A 3-1 win over Jarvis Christian got things off to a great start on Friday. The Bulldogs claimed the first set 25-20, but the Aggies battled back to take three straight sets (25-19, 25-18, 25-21) to clinch the victory. Panhandle newcomers,
Courtney Adams and
Barbara Forman held game highs in kills with 13 and 11 respectively; Adams also added points off three block assists. Sophomore
Kendra Butler shared the game-high in block assists with Justus Springs of Jarvis, each had four in the match.
McKenna Clement led the game in digs, coming up with a total of 19 for the Aggies, and senior
Julia Ibarra finished with the game-high in assists with 30.
Game two on Friday gave the Aggies a loss against St. Thomas-Houston in three sets 25-15, 25-22 and 25-18. Freshman
Essence Kays led the team in kills with seven, followed by Butler with six.
Gabrielle Cruz totaled 12 assists for the Aggies and Clement had another game-high with 16 digs.
Saturday the Aggies took Wiley College to four sets in their first match of the day. Set one went to extra points with Panhandle falling 27-25 in the end. Set two saw the Aggies defeated 25-16, but the team came together to claim victory in set three 25-19 before falling 25-21 in the final set. Setters Ibarra and Cruz combined for 36 assists, Butler led the Aggies with 11 kills and Clement set her third game-high with 26 digs.
The University of the Southwest sent the Aggies home with a 1-3 loss in their final match of the tournament. Panhandle put up strong performances against USW, but fell short in the first two sets 25-23 and 25-19. A 25-22 victory in set three shifted momentum, but the Mustangs pulled out the win with a 25-23 win in the final set. Clement, Butler and Forman each earned game-highs in the match; Clement had 25 digs and Butler and Forman led with 11 kills apiece.
Head Coach
Matt Heffner commented, "We had a great opening weekend and saw a lot of our hard work from the preseason pay off. We have a lot more work ahead of us, but we are starting on the right path."
Panhandle State Volleyball opens their home season with the annual Aggies Challenge Tournament Sept. 1-2 in the Oscar Williams Field House. The Aggies take the court in a rematch with Jarvis Christian on Friday at 1 p.m. and follow-up with a 5 p.m. meeting with Northwestern Oklahoma State. Saturday's contests put Panhandle up against Fort Lewis College at 11 a.m. and their first SAC opponent at 5 p.m. versus The University of Science and Arts-Oklahoma.
