ITTA BENA, Miss. - Texas Southern opened Southwestern Athletic Conference play in impressive fashion Friday night, sweeping Mississippi Valley State 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-19) at the R.W. Harrison HPER Complex.

The Tigers improved to 2-11 overall and 1-0 in SWAC play, using a balanced offensive attack and a strong serving game to control all three sets. Texas Southern finished with 49 kills, 47 assists and 10 service aces while hitting .378 as a team. Lauren Battle led all Texas Southern attackers with 13 kills on 25 attempts while hitting .440. Gracie Lee added eight kills, while Selana Morales recorded six kills on just seven attacks for a .714 hitting percentage. Kennedi Walker contributed 11 assists and three aces, while Kadence Davison led the Tigers with 18 assists.

SET 1 — Texas Southern 25, Mississippi Valley State 15
Mississippi Valley State came out aggressively, taking an early 3-2 lead before Texas Southern responded.

After MVSU moved ahead 5-4, Battle answered with a kill from Davison to tie the set. The Tigers then began to establish control behind their service game. Walker recorded consecutive service aces to help Texas Southern build a 9-5 advantage. Houston added a kill to make it 10-6 before Morales followed with a kill to extend the margin to 11-6.
Texas Southern continued to apply pressure. Morales added another kill, Battle recorded an ace and Houston delivered another kill as the Tigers moved ahead 14-6. MVSU briefly trimmed the deficit, but Texas Southern maintained a comfortable advantage. Walker and Houston added kills during a 17-7 stretch, while Spencer contributed a kill from Davison to put TSU ahead 19-8.

The Delta Devils attempted a late rally, cutting the deficit to 24-15, but Battle ended the set with a kill from Walker, giving Texas Southern a 25-15 victory.
TSU hit .290 in the opening set, recording 15 kills on 31 attacks.

SET 2 — Texas Southern 25, Mississippi Valley State 16
Mississippi Valley State controlled the opening portion of the second set, racing to a 6-0 lead.

Texas Southern responded immediately.

Kusnier recorded a kill to put the Tigers on the board, followed by kills from Lee and Battle. An MVSU attack error then pulled TSU within 6-3.

After the Delta Devils briefly pushed the lead to 8-7, Texas Southern took control.

Battle recorded consecutive kills, and MVSU committed attack errors that allowed the Tigers to move ahead 10-8. Battle then added another kill to make it 11-8.
MVSU answered with a couple of points, but Texas Southern continued to produce offensively. Morales delivered a kill before an MVSU attack error and a TSU service ace pushed the Tigers ahead 17-12.

Morales added another kill to make it 18-12, and Spencer followed with a kill from Morales.

Battle then delivered two more kills during the closing stretch, helping Texas Southern reach 23-15.
Walker put the Tigers at set point with an MVSU attack error, making it 24-15. MVSU briefly extended the set with a kill, but an MVSU bad set gave Texas Southern the 25-16 victory and a 2-0 match advantage.

The Tigers were particularly efficient in the second set, recording 16 kills on 24 attacks with only four errors for a .500 hitting percentage.

SET 3 — Texas Southern 25, Mississippi Valley State 19
Texas Southern carried its momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead.

Kusnier opened the scoring with a kill, followed by kills from Lee and Spencer. An MVSU attack error and a kill from Davison helped the Tigers build the early advantage.
Mississippi Valley State responded with three consecutive points to make it 7-3, but TSU answered with kills from Battle and McQueen.
The Tigers continued to extend their lead, with McQueen recording back-to-back kills before Walker added another. Texas Southern moved ahead 11-3 before MVSU began to chip away.
MVSU cut the margin to 12-5, but Texas Southern answered with kills from Walker and Morales.

The Delta Devils then mounted their strongest rally of the night.

After TSU led 16-10, MVSU scored five straight points to pull within 16-15. The run included two TSU attack errors, a bad set and a service ace.
Texas Southern stopped the rally with a kill by Lee, followed by another Lee kill and three consecutive service aces from Spencer. The surge put the Tigers ahead 21-15 and restored control of the set.
Battle then delivered another kill to make it 22-15.
MVSU refused to go quietly, scoring four of the next five points to cut the deficit to 22-19. But Texas Southern closed the match with three straight points.

A service error by MVSU made it 23-19, Battle followed with a kill for match point at 24-19, and Walker finished the contest with a service ace as the Tigers completed the 25-19 set victory and the 3-0 sweep.

BY THE NUMBERS
Battle finished with a match-high 13 kills and 14 points. Lee added eight kills, while Morales had six kills while hitting .714. Walker finished with 11 assists and three aces, while Davison recorded a team-high 18 assists. Spencer led TSU with four service aces. Defensively, Lacey Kusnier posted a team-high 11 digs, followed by Keagan St. Junious with nine. Texas Southern finished with a substantial statistical advantage in kills (49-20), assists (47-17), aces (10-3) and digs (39-19). MVSU held the advantage in blocks, 13-0.

The Tigers return to action Sunday, Sept. 27, when they travel to Jackson State for another SWAC match.