Women's Volleyball | 9/4/2017 12:24:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 Goodwell, Okla.—Panhandle State Volleyball is off to their best start in recent history, owning a 3-5 record after adding two wins over the weekend in the Aggies Challenge Tournament, which opened home play for the 2017 season.

Not only did the Aggies improve their overall record, they also notched the team's first Sooner Athletic Conference win of their inaugural NAIA season with a win against the University of Science and Arts-Oklahoma.

Games spanned Friday and Saturday with five matches each day. The Aggies opened with a win against Jarvis Christian in their first home-court appearance on Friday, taking the Bulldogs in three sets 25-21, 25-7 and 25-19. Northwestern Oklahoma State reigned undefeated for the tournament and clinched their second win in straight sets over the Aggies in Friday's second home team bout which scored 25-10, 25-23, 25-13.

On Saturday, the Aggies faced a 2-0 Fort Lewis team who moved to 3-0 on the season after earning a three-set victory over Panhandle State 25-11, 25-15, 25-13. NWOSU gave the Skyhawks their only loss in a four-set shootout later that day. Panhandle proved they could battle back in their final matchup with USAO. The Aggies struck a smooth win in set one 25-13 and, after slipping set two to the Drovers 25-19, showed mental toughness by taking sets three and four by scores of 25-16 and 25-17.

Head Coach Matt Heffner felt the weekend's work gave the team another great step in the right direction. "We got awesome contributions from many athletes and it feels really good to go 2-2 at our home tournament right before the start of conference play."

For the weekend, hitters Kendra Butler and Summer Middlton led the Aggies with 24 and 22 kills respectively; freshmen Essence Kays and Barbara Forman were also big contributors, combining for 22 kills over the four-game stretch. Senior setter Julia Ibarra totaled 68 assists, with Gabrielle Cruz stepping in for 26 assists.

Defensively, the Aggies added points with nine blocks led by Butler and Kays who had four apiece. Courtney Adams offered three blocks and Quiara Pointdexter and Barbara Forman each had two blocks over the weekend; Madison Linton rounded out with one solo block. Libero McKenna Clement came up with 77 digs, averaging 5.92 per set.

Strong serves behind the line brought 21 aces for Panhandle State. Butler dished out nine to lead the team, followed by sophomore Ally Herrera who had five service aces over 11 sets played.

Coach Heffner also gave accolades to the loud and rowdy student section that showed up to cheer on their Aggies, "I'd like to give a huge Thank You to all the students, faculty and staff that came out to support us. The student section was on-point, and we look forward to having that atmosphere throughout our season at home matches. The team absolutely loved it!"

Aggie fans will have another chance to catch Panhandle Volleyball at home this week, as the team hosts their second SAC contest on Saturday, Sept. 9; the Aggies will meet with Mid-America Christian with first serve at Noon in the Oscar Williams Field House. Live stats and free live streaming video will be available online at opsuaggies.com for those unable to attend.