LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Harris-Stowe State University women's volleyball split the first day of the Philander Smith Panther Classic tournament on Friday, August 30th at Mims Gymnasium on the campus of Philander Smith University. The Lady Hornets would win their first match of the day in three sets (25-14,25-5,25-7) against Rust College before falling to Jarvis Christian University in four sets (25-22,17-25,26-28,18-25). The Lady Hornets go to 1-4 on the season.

In the first match, the Lady Hornets would race out to a 16-6 lead before a 9-8 run to close the first set. Rust would start set two with a 2-1 lead before the Lady Hornets would win the set 25-5. It would be more of the same in the third set as the Lady Hornets would start out 16-4 before closing out the set 25-7 and taking the match. The Lady Hornets would hold Rust to a -.214 hitting percentage while the Lady Hornets would hit .342 for the match. Junior outside hitter A'nyla Watson (Little Rock, Ark./North Little Rock) would record 11 kills in the match while freshman outside hitter Kaelin Rubin (Kennedale, Texas/Kennedale) would add six kills and sophomore outside hitter Kyla McReynolds (O'Fallon, Ill./Althoff Catholic) would add five kills. Sophomore setter Isa Smith (Little Rock, Ark./Joe T. Robinson) would record 17 assists and three aces. Freshman setter Jayla Payne (San Antonio, Texas/Wagner) would record 10 assists and five aces. McReynolds would add four aces in the match.

In the second match, the Lady Hornets would record a season-high 48 kills. The Lady Hornets would hold a 9-7 lead in the first set after the first 16 points before a 3-1 run by Jarvis Christian would leave the score at 10. After the next 16 points the score would be tied at 18 before the Lady Hornets would go on a 7-4 run to take the first set. The Bulldogs would take the second set to tie the match at 1-1. In the third set, the Lady Hornets would start out 10-3 before a timeout from the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs would cut the lead to five at 16-11 before going on a 17-15 run to close the set 28-26. The Bulldogs would win the fourth set 25-18.

Sophomore middle blocker/right side hitter Trinity Edison (Louisville, Ky./Louisville Central) and sophomore Alexis Kemp (Kansas City, Mo./University Academy) would lead the way with nine kills each. Watson added eight and McReynolds added seven. Senior middle hitter Jayden Sortor (Sherman, Ill./Parkland College) would record five aces. Smith would record 24 assists in the match while Payne would add 14.

The Lady Hornets are back in action on Saturday, August 31st as they conclude the Panther Classic with matches against Paul Quinn College at 10 am and Langston University at 2 pm.