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Ladies grab third place in Lady Panther Invitational

The Lady Panthers volleyball team welcomed three visitors to ‘The Hill’ for three days full of kills and digs. South Alabama, Nicholls State, and SWAC eastern division foe UAPB all participated in the four team round robin style invitational.

The weekend brought some good and some bad for the Lady Panthers, as they finished third in Prairie View’s Lady Panther Invitational after their fast start.

The women’s volleyball team started off the weekend with a tune-up game for the Lady Panther Invitational against the Lady Lions of the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. You couldn’t tell by the score (9-0), but the Lady Panthers came out a little rusty in the opening minutes. Either way, the Lady Lions still couldn’t take advantage of Prairie View mistakes and the Lady Panthers swept them in three straight games 25-8, 25-16, and 25-21.

Juniors Cheri Lindsay and Jasmine Hale supplied a combined 49 digs for Prairie View A&M University. The women truly showed that they meant business and wanted to protect their turf.

The Lady Panthers came out with a bang on Friday when they opened up the Invitational against the Lady Lions of the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Lady Panthers defeated the Lady Lions easily with great offensive and defensive play as they swept UAPB in three straight games. Lindsay led the Lady Panthers with 14 kills to help them take the win.

The next match was against Nicholls State early Saturday morning. The Lady Panthers knew they would have to be mentally prepared for this match to come out with the win and a chance to keep the title here at home. So, when they jumped out of the gate winning the first match 25-21, it was no surprise.

The Lady Colonels buckled down quickly as they grabbed wins in the next three games. Nicholls State took the last game 25-19 to win the match. The Lady Panthers’ standouts were sophomore Sarah Garcia with eight digs, while senior Shaun Williams added 10 kills.

The last match of the day came when the Lady Panthers were set to battle it out with the University of Southern Alabama. The outcome didn’t turn out as the team planned though, losing in three straight games 25-20, 25-23, and 25-20.

Despite fighting with much heart during the Lady Panther Invitational, the team fell short in the home stand against their Division I opponents. When asked how she felt her team did this past weekend, Lindsay stated, “I think that as a team when we are all focused we play well, but I think we need to work on communication.”

The ladies still have a long way to go until the SWAC Tournament and they are working rapidly to improve on their shortcomings. The Lady Panthers are now set to continue with their next game at home against the Sam Houston State Lady Bearkats on Tuesday at 7 p.m.