OMAHA, Neb. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State volleyball team (2-3) rebounded from being swept at the hands of No. 10 Providence (5-1) at the Labor Day Classic on Friday morning by prevailing in a nail-biter over Hastings (3-5) in the afternoon.
The match versus the Mustangs proved to be a defensive clash, with the Aggies racking up a season-high 95 digs as the two teams traded blows in their second meeting of the season, both of which have resulted in Panhandle State victories.
Taylore Alsaid highlighted the defensive effort in the win, posting a career-high 25 digs. The versatile junior finished her day with 33 digs and 16 kills overall.
Other Aggies contributing defensively in the victory were
Winiffer Rodriguez with 21 digs, and
Mia Sanchez and
Elena Kagiali with 16 digs apiece.
The five-set thriller yielded a career-high offensive performance as well, as Sanchez notched 44 assists, two better than her previous career mark.
While Alsaid led OPSU in kills during the day's first match, Kagiali and
Ava Newby paced head coach
Ilani Dalton's squad against Hastings with 15 and 10 kills, respectively.
Kaylen Lewis and
Brenna Moore were stout at the net, each posting seven kills in the win while tallying seven and four total blocks, respectively. Lewis committed no attack errors on 13 swings for an Aggie-high .538 hitting percentage.
Panhandle State had 13 blocks as a team versus the Mustangs, its most in a match since Nov. 5, 2021. Newby, Kagiali, Alsaid and
Emma Coburn contributed to the total with multiple block assists apiece.
Match 1 vs No. 10 Providence: Lost 3-0 (8-25, 19-25, 19-25)
The Aggies recovered after a poor start to remain competitive against the NAIA's 10th-ranked squad, tying both the second and third sets at 7-7 before the Argos pulled away.
Match 2 vs Hastings: Won 3-2 (25-16, 25-20, 17-25, 20-25, 15-11)
OPSU roared out of the gates and cruised to a stress-free first-set win. The Aggies faced adversity in set number two, falling behind 10-5 before recovering to win 20 of the next 30 points.
Hastings flipped the script with convincing wins in the third and fourth frames, and it jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the winner-take-all fifth set. OPSU's offensive attack came to life with a barrage of kills, however, delivering a .400 attack percentage as a team in the fifth set to win.
What's up next: OPSU concludes play at the College of Saint Mary Labor Day Classic on Saturday with matches versus RV Morningside (3-4) at 11 a.m. and Ottawa (0-4) at 5 p.m.
