The Mississippi Valley State Devilettes volleyball team began its 2009 campaign with a pair of non-conference wins August 28 in Little Rock, Arkansas. In tri-match action, the Devilettes picked up straight-set wins over Central Baptist College and Philander Smith.
In the team’s season opener against the Mustangs of Central Baptist, MVSU started off slow but quickly picked the action late in the first set. After winning the set 25-17, the Devilettes increased their offensive intensity and cut down on their errors to win 25-13. Central Baptist fought hard in the third set, but MVSU prevailed 25-15 to capture the match.
Maura Moed led all players with nine kills and five blocks while Lonnie Hoff finished with six kills and seven digs. Kantessa Bryant tallied five kills, five digs and three blocks. The intermission between the second and third match of the day was filled by a local youth gospel choir as they astounded the players and the crowd.
In MVSU’s second match, they faced the host school Philander Smith. The Devilettes again started off slow but were helped by 10 Lady Panther errors. After winning set one 25-14, MVSU worked quickly to win the second and third sets 25-12. Moed led the team with nine kills and four blocks while Bryant, Hoff and Jaquinta Pugh each had four kills in the match.
MVSU travels to Houston, Texas to participate in the Texas Southern Season Opener on September 4-5. The team’s first home matches come during the 2009 MVSU/Jessie Harris Classic September 25-26.
