PINE BLUFF, Ark. - Texas Southern earned a 25-22, 26-24, 25-17 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff to split its latest road trip on Monday.
Texas Southern opened the match with a kill from Lacey Kusnier, but Arkansas-Pine Bluff responded behind Zuzanna Zietek to take an early 4-3 lead. The Tigers regained momentum with consecutive kills from Emory Harper, followed by a combined block from Aaliyah Brown and Gracie Lee that helped TSU move ahead 7-5. After Arkansas-Pine Bluff tied the set at 7, Lauren Battle answered with a kill to give Texas Southern an 8-7 advantage. Morgynne McQueen added a kill, while Harper helped extend the Tigers' lead to 14-9. The Golden Lions responded with kills from Zietek and Haley Reeves to trim the deficit to 14-12. Harper stopped the run with another kill, and consecutive attacks from Battle later pushed Texas Southern ahead 18-14. Arkansas-Pine Bluff continued battling, using a service ace from Ngozi Nwosu and a pair of kills from Reeves to tie the set at 20. Texas Southern responded at the critical moment. McQueen broke the tie with a kill, Harper followed with consecutive offensive contributions, and Battle put the Tigers at set point with a kill for a 24-21 advantage. After Arkansas-Pine Bluff scored once more, Battle delivered the set-winning kill off an assist from Kadence Davison to secure the 25-22 victory.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff opened the second set and built an early 5-3 advantage but Texas Southern answered with kills from Battle and Kusnier before taking a 9-7 lead on a Kusnier service ace. The Golden Lions responded with five consecutive points, including a service ace from Martyna Lubowicz and a kill from Reeves, to move ahead 12-9. Aliyah Spencer stopped the run with a kill, but Arkansas-Pine Bluff extended its advantage to 15-11.
The Tigers began their comeback behind Ava Houston, Kusnier and Brown. Houston started the rally with a kill, Kusnier followed with another, and Brown added a kill before a Golden Lions attack error tied the set at 15. Arkansas-Pine Bluff briefly regained the lead, but Kusnier answered with another kill to tie the score at 16. The teams continued exchanging points but Texas Southern ultimately completed the comeback, winning the set 26-24 to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.
With a two-set advantage, Texas Southern entered the third frame looking to complete the road sweep.
TSU moved ahead by four early on but UAPB narrowed the gap to 13-12 until a 6-1 run gave TSU a 19-13 lead. UAPB closed to within three points once again but a team effort propelled TSU to a 6-1 surge and a 25-17 win.
Lauren Battle led Texas Southern with a match-high 12 kills and added 10 digs for a double-double. Emory Harper contributed nine kills, while Lacey Kusnier finished with eight kills and two service aces.
TSU will face SWAC rival Prairie View A&M twice this week as they'll head to Prairie View A&M on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by a 5 p.m. home match on Sunday inside the H&PE Arena.
