SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Texas Southern opened its West Coast swing with a 3-1 loss at San Francisco on Thursday afternoon.
The Tigers fell 25-15, 25-16, 25-27, 25-20 to the Dons in the opening match of the thee-day showcase.
TSU claimed an early 10-6 lead to open set one but an 11-1 run by USF turned the tide of the set en route to a 25-15 defeat. The Dons took control early in the second set and claimed a 25-16 win but TSU refused to go away easily with a solid third set.
San Francisco opened the set with a 3-1 lead, but Texas Southern quickly answered. Lauren Battle delivered a kill from Lacey Kusnier to put the Tigers ahead 6-5, and a San Francisco setting error extended the lead to 7-5. The Dons eventually pulled even at 10-10 before going on a 5-0 run to take a 15-10 advantage. Texas Southern refused to let the set get away. Selana Morales ended the Dons' run with a kill from Kadence Davison, while Emory Harper and Morales added kills as the Tigers trimmed the deficit. San Francisco still held a 23-14 advantage before Texas Southern began another push.
The Tigers continued to fight, with Battle answering for a kill to make it 23-15. San Francisco reached set point at 24-15, but Texas Southern scored consecutive points, including a kill by Ava Houston, to extend the set. The Dons reached another set point at 25-16, but Houston responded with another kill to keep the Tigers alive. Texas Southern then completed the comeback with a decisive late surge. The Tigers used kills from Lauanna Pino, Aliyah Spencer and other attackers to turn the extended set in their favor, eventually winning 27-25.
The third-set victory marked Texas Southern's strongest offensive performance of the match to that point, with the Tigers recording 16 kills, including a team-best performance from Aliyah Spencer, who finished the match with seven kills and three blocks.
Set four saw TSU claim a 10-9 lead but USF went on a 6-0 run to lead 15-10. TSU attempted to close the gap several times but couldn't get over the hump as the Dons held on to clinch the match.
Lauren Battle led Texas Southern with eight kills, while Aliyah Spencer and Gracie Lee added seven apiece. Spencer also contributed three blocks and finished with 10 points. Lee recorded seven kills while hitting .200 and added two blocks. Morgynne McQueen produced six kills on 14 attacks with a .357 hitting percentage. Kadence Davison directed the Tigers' offense with 16 assists and added 12 digs for a double-double. Kennedi Walker contributed 10 assists, while Ava Ray added seven. Lauanna Pino provided two service aces and nine digs, while Texas Southern finished with three aces as a team.
TSU is back in action Friday at 4:30 p.m. against Cal Baptist.
