HOUSTON – Texas Southern University's volleyball team maintained at least a share of first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference's West Division with a sweep of Arkansas–Pine Bluff on Sunday.
Scores of the match were 25-14, 25-20, and 25-17.
Alexis Austin knocked down 10 kills and hit .500 as the Lady Tigers (8-8) improved its conference record to 6-3 with the victory.
Cassidy Jannson tallied eight kills, while Eboni Mitchell put away five kills only six attempts as TSU completed its first cycle through the SWAC. Kirby Anderson knocked down three kills and blocked a match-high six opposition attacks (one solo, five assisted).
Asia Howard and Breyanna York handed out 13 assists apiece for the Lady Tigers, while Howard and Jannson also led the defensive effort with seven digs apiece.
Pine Bluff's Lisa Casimie led the Lady Lions (4-16, 3-4 SWAC) with 10 kills.
The Lady Tigers put comfortable distance between themselves and their opponents in set one with a 7-1 run that stretched their lead to 18-9. Five of those points came on Pine Bluff errors, with Anderson blocking three of those attacks (one solo, and two assisted, with Eboni Mitchell and Nicole Robinson).
The visiting Lions scored the first four points of set two and led by as many as five points early on. However, a 9-2 TSU run helped the Lady Tigers claim a 14-11 advantage. Mitchell had four of her kills during that stretch, and also blocked a Pine Bluff attack with Anderson to help spark the comeback.
TSU finished the second set by scoring five of the final six points, with Austin providing two of those points on kills.
The Lady Tigers wasted no time seizing momentum in set three, scoring the first four points and jumping out to a 10-2 lead. Pine Bluff would not come closer than three points from their host for the rest of the set.
TSU hit .278 or better in the first two sets. The Lady Tigers also helped their cause by scoring on 55 percent of their serves during the match.
The Lady Tigers will have a week to prepare for their next match, a non-conference contest against Jarvis Christian College on Tuesday, Oct. 17. Match time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at TSU's H&PE Arena.
