UAPB Volleyball Takes Down Prairie View 3-2; Clinches Postseason Berth

PRAIRIE VIEW, TX – Kori Diego collected 16 kills with a .516 attack percentage to help power the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff volleyball team to a five-set win (22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 15-9) against the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers Monday on the road at Baby Dome.

The win earned the Lady Lions’ a spot in the 2022 SWAC Tournament for the fourth straight season, and first berth under head coach Gabrielle Floyd.

The Lady Lions attack was paced by Fernanda Spengler, who finished with 16 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .268, and by Diego, who had 16 while hitting .516. Defensively, UAPB had three players reach double figures in digs, including Starvoula Papazoglou‘s 21, 12 from Nikole Akamine, and 11 more from Kaila Robinson. From the front row, Diego contributed eight blocks.

Game Notes

» UAPB had three players in double figures in digs.
» Kori Diego was efficient in attacking situations in the match, accumulating 16 kills while hitting .516.
» Elyssa Kennedy had a team-high two aces in the win.
» UAPB rallied from being down by 12 points to win the third set.
» UAPB never trailed on the way to winning the fourth set 15-9.
» Fernanda Spengler had a team-high 16 kills for UAPB.
» UAPB got a match-high 21 digs from Starvoula Papazoglou.
» UAPB attackers were helped by a team-high 26 assists from Nikole Akamine.

How It Happened

SET 1 | The Lady Lions fell behind early, losing the first set 25-22. UAPB trailed by as many as six points as Prairie View A&M never gave up the lead in a set that was knotted up two times before the Lady Panthers took control.

SET 2 | UAPB tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 victory in the second set. The Lady Lions took the lead for good at 11-10 in a set that didn’t have a lead change before the Lady Lions took over the lead.

SET 3 | UAPB built on that second-set success with a victory in set number three to open up a lead at two sets to one. The Lady Lions fell behind by 12 points at 16-4 before rallying to win 25-23. UAPB jumped in front at 24-23 and held on to take the set. The UAPB offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.

SET 4 | UAPB couldn’t keep the win streak going, as the Lady Panthers forced a fifth set with a 25-21 fourth-set win. Prairie View A&M grabbed the advantage for good at 19-18 and UAPB was never able to recover in a set that was tied up five times before the Lady Panthers took over in the second half of the stanza.

SET 5 | UAPB took a two sets to one lead and fought off Prairie View A&M’s rally attempt, which included a fourth set victory, to win the fifth set 15-9 and the match 3-2. The Lady Lions scored first and never trailed in set five to earn the victory. UAPB opened up as much as a seven point lead at 8-1 before closing out the set, totaling nine kills in the set.