Lady Panthers host invitational tourney

The Lady Panthers volleyball team hosted its annual Lady Panther Invitational tournament in the William J. Nicks Gymnasium, Sept. 14-15. Participants in the tournament were the University of Texas Pan American, Air Force, Texas Southern, and the University of Texas San Antonio.

The Lady Panthers opened the tournament against UT Pan American. The play was competitive between both teams, but UT Pan American managed to edge out the Panthers in straight matches, 21-30, 25-30, and 19-30. Tacho Richard helped the Panthers with eight kills against UT-Pan American.

The Panthers now faced UT San Antonio. The Panthers continued to fight tough, but suffered their second consecutive loss, 20-30, 23-30, and 28-30. Ashley Campbell led the UT-San Antonio game with nine kills.

The Panthers' last game of the day came from division rival Texas Southern. The Lady Panthers refused to end the day with another loss, so they dug deep and defeated Texas Southern in straight sets, 30-20, 30-18, and 30-21. Senior Tamika Newman led the team in kills with 16, while sophomore Shaun Williams added 10.

The second day of the tourney, the Lady Panthers determined to start anew. Prairie View was able to win a set against the Air Force Lady Falcons and narrowly missed a third win with a score of 27-30. The Panthers fought hard during the game but continued to fall behind in points. The Lady Falcons gained a ten point lead throughout the next set.

The Air Force's defense was near perfect, preventing the Panthers from hitting any easy shots and leading to a turnover from the home team. Shaun Williams and Tacho Richard both had 13 kills each in the final game. UT Pan American went on to win the tournament undefeated.

As the tournament concluded, Tamika Newman received all-tournament team honors. The Lady Panthers' next home game will be Sept. 27 against Southern in the William J. Nicks Building at 6 p.m.