Lady Panthers Place Second in Southern Tournament

Monday, October 12, 2009 01:13 PM

Baton Rouge, La.-Prairie View A&M women’s volleyball team competed in the Southern Tournament this past weekend placing second overall.

The Lady Panthers finished the tournament with a 2-2 overall record losing in the championship game to Jackson State University. Prairie View opened up tournament play against Mississippi Valley Lady Devils and beat them in five sets (25-27, 25-21, 25-20, 18-25, 15-8). In the opening match Prairie View came out cold, going back and forth with Mississippi Valley finally closing them out in set five 15-8.

Shawn Williams recorded a season high of 22 kills with a hitting percentage of .300, she also recorded five digs, and one block. Erin Fondel also contributed 41 assists to go along with seven kills, five digs, and four blocks. Other Lady Panthers who contributed to the win were freshman sensation Sapphire Reid with 11 kills, 10 digs, and one block. Cheri Lindsay recorded eight kills and 14 digs.

Later on in the afternoon the Lady Panthers took on Jackson State where they were faced with a little more problems falling to Jackson State in four sets (21-25, 22-25, 25-15, 23-25).  Jackson State came out strong closing out Prairie View in the first two sets. In the serge to get back into the match the Lady Panthers were able to pull out with the third set wining it 25-15. Unfortunately, the Lady Panthers were unable to hold off an attack from Jackson State’s  front line losing in a back and forth affair 25-23.

Cheri Lindsay led the Prairie View attack recording 20 kills, 13 digs, and two blocks. Erin Fondel recorded a season high of 45 assists while also contributing four kills, eight digs, and two blocks. Jasmine Hale led the Lady Panthers with 17 digs and one assist.

In the following day of tournament play the Lady Panthers opened up the day competing against Alabama State. The Lady Panthers closed out Alabama State in three straight sets, (25-20, 25-19, 25-14). Prairie View controlled the pace of the entire match finishing up with a total of 40 kills.

Sharonda Marshall and Latoya Taylor were two stand out players on the defensive side of the ball both recording four blocks each. Cheri Lindsay led the charge with 14 kills with a hitting percentage of .435 while recording eight digs, three blocks, and two assists.

The Lady Panthers qualified for the championship game and faced off against Jackson State in the final match of the tournament. Jackson State got off to a quick start closing out the final match in three sets (26-24, 25-20, 25-18). The Lady Panthers placed second overall behind Erin Fondel who recorded her third All-Tournament team accolades this season.

“I was very impressed with the level of play during this tournament we had good chemistry and team atmosphere,” said head coach Alicia Pete. “We need to stay aggressive and focused for the rest of the season so we could be consistent as we head into SWAC play.”

The Lady Panthers continue their season and are set to take on Houston Baptist University on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 7pm at William J. Nicks gymnasium.