STEPHENVILLE, Texas - The Tennessee State volleyball team picked up its first win of the season on Friday afternoon, as it played two games on day one of the Pam Littleton Classic. The Tigers took down Prairie View A&M 3-0 in their first match of the day and fell to host school Tarleton State 3-0 this evening. TSU will play one more match tomorrow afternoon against South Eastern Louisiana to close out the classic. 

TSU 3, PVAMU 0
The Tennessee State volleyball team got the job done in straight sets (25-19, 25-15, 25-16) to knock off the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers Friday at Wisdom Volleyball Gym for their first win of the year.

The non-conference win improved Tennessee State's overall record to 1-2 on the season.

Johanna Alcantara finished with nine kills on the day to lead the TSU offense while finishing with a hitting percentage of .35. got 10 digs from Carla Boudal to lead them defensively.

Game Notes
» Hadley Pride had a match-high two aces in the win.
» Alcantara had a team-high nine kills for Tennessee State.
» Tennessee State got a match-high 10 digs from Boudal.
» Tennessee State attackers were helped by a match-high 12 assists from Sofia Garcia-Guerrios.

How It Happened
SET 1 | The Tigers took set one 25-19, propelled by a solid showing on the attacking side. TSU put together a .391 attack percentage with 13 kills in the set victory. The Tigers opened up a 22-15 lead in the stanza and coasted to victory from there. TSU also supplemented their offense with four aces in the opening set.

SET 2 | The Tigers took set two 25-15 to swiftly grab a 2-0 lead. TSU never trailed by more than five points and grabbed the advantage for good at 7-6 in a set that showcased two lead changes before Tennessee State took over the lead.

SET 3 | Tennessee State then capped the three-set sweep with a victory in set number three. The Tigers took control of the set early when the score was 2-1 and held the lead the rest of the way to win 25-16. TSU led by 12 points at 22-10 before closing out the stanza. The TSU front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking five Prairie View A&M attacks in the stanza and capitalizing on 12 Prairie View A&M attacking errors on the way to victory.

"Though we won, I would like to see a whole lot more from this team as we move into tonight's match," noted head coach Donika Sutton. 

Tarleton State 3, TSU 0
The Tiger volleyball team could not beat an opposing Texans offense in their second match on Friday, as they fell Tarleton State in three sets (21-25, 19-25, 15-25).

The non-conference loss moved Tennessee State to 1-3 on the season.

The Tiger offense was paced by Alcantara, who finished with 10 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .259, and by Alondrah Santana-Rodriguez, who had 10 while hitting .316. Defensively, had two players reach double figures in digs as Gina Rivera-Ortiz had 12 and Sofia Garcia-Guerrios had 10.

Game Notes
» Boudal had a team-high one ace in the loss.
» Alcantara had a team-high 10 kills for Tennessee State.
» Tennessee State got a team-high 12 digs from Gina Rivera-Ortiz.
» Tennessee State attackers were helped by a team-high 14 assists from Sofia Garcia-Guerrios.

How It Happened
SET 1 | The Tigers couldn't hang on in a back-and-forth first set, losing 25-21 in a game that featured four lead changes and was tied seven times. Neither team led by more than four points in the match.

SET 2 | A 25-19 set-two loss put Tennessee State in a 2-0 hole in the match. TSU trailed by as many as six points, as Tarleton State grabbed the advantage for good at 13-12 in a set that was tied up three times before the Texans took over the lead.

SET 3 | TSU couldn't prolong the match and lost in set number three. The Tigers lost a tough set 25-15. Tennessee State trailed by as many as 10 points as Tarleton State grabbed the advantage for good at 3-2 in a set that was tied up just once before the Texans took over the lead.

"We're still in the beginning of pre-season and have a lot of things to work out, but there is a lot of talent on this team," stated head coach Donika Sutton. "We're focused on getting all the pieces together and regrouping for tomorrow."

UP NEXT
The Tigers are set to close out the Pam Littleton Classic tomorrow afternoon against Southeastern Louisiana University. First serve is set for 1:00 p.m.