HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Texas Southern volleyball showed grit and flashes of brilliance Monday night, but couldn't hold off a surging Alabama A&M squad, falling 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20) inside Elmore Gymnasium.
The Lady Tigers came out swinging, nearly stealing the opening set and bouncing back to take the second behind a balanced offensive attack. But the Bulldogs capitalized on key momentum swings late in sets three and four to close out the match.
Outside hitter Lauren Battle led TSU with 12 kills and added eight digs, while Gracie Hill chipped in 12.5 points and three blocks. Ava Houston and Kourtni Collier each tallied 10.5 points, with Houston hitting .286 and Collier adding two service aces and seven digs.
TSU hit .183 as a team and out-blocked Alabama A&M 7.0 to 3.0, but the Bulldogs' .165 hitting percentage and timely kills from Rayishon Jackman (17 kills) and Nisaan Martinez (12 kills) proved to be the difference.
The Lady Tigers showed resilience in the third set, rallying from a 14-12 deficit to tie it at 23 before AAMU closed it out. In the fourth, TSU kept it close until a late Bulldog run sealed the match.
Ava Ray dished out 25 assists and anchored the back row with 16 digs, while Lauanna Pino Watanabe added 15 digs and a service ace.
Texas Southern returns to action this weekend as the Lady Tigers host Alcorn State on Sunday at 1 p.m. inside the H&PE Arena.
