Jackson, Miss. – Alabama State began the Southwestern Athletic Conference East Roundup with a 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-13, 26-24) win over Prairie View A&M in volleyball action inside of the Jackson Convention Center on Friday afternoon.
 
The Lady Hornets (8-17, 5-5 SWAC) hit a blistering .311 while also playing great defense against the Panthers (9-19, 8-2 SWAC) securing eight team blocks and 50 digs.
 
Senior Krysta Medearis led the way with a match-high 17 kills on a crucial .394 hitting percentage alongside three digs. Fellow classmate Bayle' Bennett followed behind with 11 kills (.235 hitting) with seven digs.
 
Junior E'laisah Young also poured in an impressive match as the middle with 10 kills on a match-high .474 hitting with a pair of digs and a block solo. Junior McKenzie Boland turned in a career-high 48 assists with six digs while freshman Emersen Belles posted a team-high 15 digs.
 
Set One (Alabama State 19, PVAMU 25)
Alabama State struggled defensively in the set as the Panthers hit .500 with 17 kills and only two errors. The Lady Hornets posted a decent hitting percentage with a .250 clip securing 13 kills but it was not enough to slow down Prairie View.
 
Set Two (Alabama State 25, PVAMU 22)
The Lady Hornets turned the momentum around as the team hit .333 with 14 kills and held the Panthers to just 10 kills and a .154 hitting percentage. Trailing 10-7, Alabama State went on a 7-0 run to take a commanding 14-10 lead that it would not relinquish.
 
Set Three (Alabama State 25, PVAMU 13)
Alabama State used all its momentum from the second set in the third as the defense held the Panthers to a -.108 percentage and only eight kills forcing 12 errors. The defense was the crucial part of the set as the Lady Hornets were only able to grab eight kills.
 
Set Four (Alabama State 26, PVAMU 24)
The final set was a battle as there were five ties by the 10-all mark. Alabama State went on a 5-0 run to take a 15-10 lead but the Panthers did not let up as PVAMU went on a 10-4 run to tie the score at 24. Back-to-back attacking errors by Prairie View allowed Alabama State to seal the deal. The Lady Hornets recorded a match-high 20 kills with a .405 hitting percentage.
 
Up Next
The Lady Hornets will take on UAPB at 3 p.m.
 
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