TEXAS SOUTHERN VOLLEYBALL SUFFERS BIG LOSS TO SOUTHERN

Friday, September 26, 2008

Houston – The Texas Southern Lady Tigers volleyball team suffered a major loss as they came up short 1-3 against Southern. However, the major concern for the Lady Tigers was the loss of middle blocker Emma Obi (5-9, Jr., El Paso, Texas). 

“She is a big part of our offense,” said head coach Dwalah Fisher. “Emma is the second starter we’ve lost in two games, but our concern is that she is okay.”

Obi went down in the beginning of the second game with what seemed to be an ankle injury. Doctors are examining her to find out the extent of her injuries.

Starting setter Lacy Verdun (5-3, Jr., Houston) will be out for several weeks with a thumb injury she suffered in last week’s game against Prairie View.

Against Southern, the Lady Tigers played each game to the end with scores of 25-27, 25-27, 26-20, 24-26.

“We dug ourselves into a hole that was too deep to climb out of,” said Fisher. “The good thing is we never gave up. The team has heart and fight. Our problem is that we are playing not to lose when we need to be playing to win.”

Middle blockers Krystal Obi (5-10, Sr., El Paso, Texas) recorded 10 kills and four blocks and Ashlee Cooper (6-4, So., Reserve, La.) had 12 kills and three blocks for TSU. Outside hitter Alisa Morgan (5-10, Jr., Ft. Worth, Texas) had nine kills and 12 digs. Muriel Thymes (L, 5-7, Jr., Georgetown, Texas) posted 33 digs and Jerleesa King (OH, 5-9, So., Beaumont, Texas) had 14 digs.

The Lady Tigers will travel to Houston Baptist University on Tuesday, Sept. 30 for a 7:00 p.m. contest.

Short Box Score (Match)

Southern Univ vs Texas Southern (Sep 26, 2008 at Houston,TX)
Southern Univ def. Texas Southern 27-25,27-25,20-25,26-24

Southern Univ (Kills-aces-blocks) - PAYNE,E 17-0-2; CHAVIS,D 9-2-0; SOUTHALL,C 7-1-1; OKWUONE,B 6-0-1; BEAN.L 2-0-2; SIMPSON,L 1-0-5; ALLEN,L 0-3-1; BUGGAGE,K 0-1-0; Totals 42-7-8.0. (Assists) - SIMPSON,L 37. (Dig leaders) - BEATHLEY,L 28; SOUTHALL,C 11; CHAVIS,D 10; SIMPSON,L 10

Texas Southern (2-8) (Kills-aces-blocks) - COOPER,Ashlee 12-0-3; OBI,Krystal 10-2-5; MORGAN,Alisa 9-3-0; KING,Jerleesa 7-2-0;
OBI,Emma 4-0-0; OLIVER,Jasmine 3-1-1; GREEN,Simone 0-0-2; Totals 45-8-10.5. (Assists) - GREEN,Simone 40. (Dig leaders) - THYMES,Muriel 33; KING,Jerleesa 14; MORGAN,Alisa 12

-TSU-