Women's Volleyball | 8/27/2018 6:20:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 Goodwell, Okla.—The Panhandle State volleyball team saw a great turnout for their home and season-openers Aug. 24-25, as they hosted the annual Aggies Challenge Tournament at Anchor D Arena.

The two-day, six-team event kicked off on Friday with a home team matchup against a talent-packed Tigers team from Fort Hays State. The Aggies dropped their first contest in three straight sets (26-24, 27-25, 25-16), but remained competitive throughout the match. Sophomore Quiara Pointdexter led the Aggies in scoring with 6.5 points on five kills and one service ace, followed by junior Kendra Butler and senior Courtney Adams who each totaled six points. Adams added points on a team-high of six kills, and Butler recorded five kills and two block assists in the game. Newcomer Cailyn Berry was strong behind the line with four aces and set up 15 assists in her first appearance as an Aggie.

Friday's visiting competitions brought two wins for Northwestern Oklahoma State, one for the University of St. Thomas-Texas and a second victory for FHSU. Panhandle State took the court for the final performance on Friday evening, falling to the University of the Southwest in four sets. The Aggies came out blazing in the first set, holding USW to a negative hitting percentage to claim a 26-24 victory over the Mustangs. USW battled back with three straight wins (25-12, 25-22, 26-24), notching their first win of the season against the Aggies. Juniors Kendra Butler and Ruth Ard combined for 17 kills for Panhandle State; Butler with nine and Ard with eight. Butler also led the team in scoring, amassing 12.5 points on kills, three service aces and one block assist. Berry offered up 27 assists as the team's primary setter.

Fort Hays and Northwestern acquired two wins each in Saturday's sessions, with USW taking a second win on the day. St. Thomas took their second win of the season in Saturday's third game against Panhandle State (3-0). The Aggies were overtaken 25-14, 25-16 and 25-17 by the Celts and were outmatched at the net 5-1 on blocks and 44-27 on kills. Freshmen Katelyn Faulk and Kali Kenny arose as team leaders in scoring with six points each off kills. Kenny also offered one block assist and Faulk connected on the serve with nine digs.

The Aggies faced the fourth-ranked preseason favorite from the Great American Conference in their final outing of the weekend. The Northwestern Oklahoma State University Rangers left Goodwell with an undefeated 4-0 record after defeating Panhandle State 3-0 in Saturday's fifth matchup of the day. The Aggies fought for every point, but fell short of victory by scores of 25-12, 25-12 and 25-9. The Rangers brought the heat with 12 service aces and averaged .330 hitting percentage for the match. Ruth Ard was the Aggies' leading scorer with six points on four kills and two blocks.

Head Coach Signe Coombs was excited to see the great show of support from the campus and community throughout the tournament and is optimistic for the season ahead. "I thought our team came ready to play on Friday. It was good for us to compete against other teams; it allows for an opportunity to get film to breakdown and continue future development. There were a lot of positives to take away despite going 0-4 and we will continue to build off those positives for this week."

Panhandle State volleyball takes to the road for their first travel date of the season, as they head to Sterling, Kansas to compete against Sterling College on Tuesday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. The team returns to host a round robin tri-match Friday and Saturday, Aug. 31-Sept. 1 in Anchor D Arena. The Aggies go up against two Sooner Athletic Conference opponents as they meet with the University of Science and Arts-Oklahoma and Mid-America Christian. Friday's contests begin at 3 p.m. with the Aggies taking on USAO, followed by a visiting matchup against Oklahoma Wesleyan and USAO at 5 p.m.; at 7 p.m. the Aggies take the court against Oklahoma Wesleyan for the final match of the night. On Saturday, OPSU opens with a conference game against MACU at Noon followed by the final game of the weekend at 2 p.m. which brings MACU and OWU to the court. Live stats and video streaming will be offered for all games this week, with links available online at opsuaggies.com.