ST. LOUIS – The match between the Hornets of Harris-Stowe State University and the Panthers of Philander Smith College, an HBCU from Little Rock, Arkansas, was designated as HBCU Night. Both teams fought valiantly, however, the Hornets were able to come out victoriously.
Breakdown per set: 25-18, 25-22, 25-22, 26-24, 15-13
In the opening set, the Panthers took an early lead, 2-0. Jayden Sortor nailed the ball to the court for an epic kill to start scoring for Harris-Stowe. An error by Philander's Jordan Johnson knotted the score at two. Sortor scored the tiebreaking point for HSSU and the team didn't look back. There were a couple instances the score was close, however, the Hornets were able to define the match early on.
The second set was closer as the Panther prowled after the Hornets; attempting to tie the match at one set each. The score was closer; however, Harris-Stowe was able to secure the win and go up 2-0.
The third and fourth sets ultimately went to the Panthers but it is imperative to note that neither was due Harris-Stowe being dominated on the court. With the match score standing at 2-2, the two teams locked in and fought to be the first to reach 15-points. After it was all said and done, HSSU clinched a victory over the Panthers, who until facing the Hornets were undefeated against American Midwest Conference opponents this season.
Sortor started the Hornets scoring in set one and ended it with a phenomenal kill for the final point of the match. Statistically, she paced the team with 25 kills and five blocks. Ariyonna Johnson also recorded double-digit kills, with 10. She also tallied three aces, two blocks and one assist. A'nyla Watson finished the match with nine kills and two aces. Hot-handed Nyah Parker landed four aces for the Hornets offense. Where there are kills in volleyball there is almost surely an assist. For the Hornets, A'Nia Ware ensured she was in place to be an asset to her team, recording 52 assists, nine digs, and two blocks. Nickeal Clark showed persistence with 26 digs and seven assists. Arneka McReynolds finished with 13 digs to aid Harris-Stowe.
Harris-Stowe will travel to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, to face Williams Baptist College on Friday, October 7th at 6:00 pm.
