Box Score

Rachel Smith collected 16 kills and 12 digs to lead Alabama State University to a 3-1 (25-23, 17-25, 25-20, 25-21) win at Prairie View A&M. The win was ASU's 11^th consecutive.

Smith was the lone Lady Hornet to collect double-digits in kills as ASU struggled from the field with a .205 hitting percentage. LaToya Ellington and Amber Bennett finished the four-set game with seven kills each. The double-double for Smith was her second of the season. Her other came against Louisiana-Monroe (14 kills/12 digs) on Sept. 20.

"This was not a pretty win," Head Coach Penny Lucas-White said. "I was very disappointed how flat we came out in tonight's game. We did not come out to play."

That flatness was never more evident than it was in the first two sets. ASU actually trailed the first set 23-18 before Smith had five kills down the stretch and ASU scored seven consecutive points with Myla Marshall at the serve to pull out the win.

In the second game there were seven tie scores before PVAMU scored six consecutive points to lead 15-9. The Panthers settled in after that run and came away the eight point decision.

Even though the Lady Hornets won the fourth game, it was another late run to push ASU to the win. ASU only led 20-18, but scored five of the final seven points.

Game four was much the same as the first game. The home-standing Panthers held early leads of 3-0 and 6-3 before ASU went on a 15-4 run to lead 18-10. PVAMU got back in the game due to some hitting errors from ASU and cut the lead to 20-17 before ASU was able to put the game away by the 25-21 score.

Brooke Beasley had a game-high 31 assists and Luiza Griz added 14 digs. ASU recorded eight blocks in holding PVAMU to a .176 hitting percentage. Dragana Cvoric, Ellington, Marshall and Bennett collected two blocks each.

ASU (16-12) will play at SWAC West-Leading Texas Southern (10-8) tomorrow at 1 p.m. While ASU has 11 consecutive wins, TSU has won six straight and stands undefeated at 5-0 at the top of the West Division.

"TSU is a well-trained and well coached team," Lucas-White said. "Sometimes a loss is as good as a win, and even though we picked up a win I hope this was a wake-up call."