Sept. 19, 2003

PRAIRIE VIEW, TX-The University of Texas-Pan American's volleyball team won its first two matches at the Lady Panther Invitational Tournament Friday. The Lady Broncs defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 30-18, 30-17, and 30-14, then downed Texas Southern, 30-23, 30-10 and 30-22 at PVAMU's New Gym.

Freshman libero Carol Marcengo (Curitiba, Brazil/SPEI HS) had 20 digs in each match, while freshman setter Karen Lyons (McAllen, TX/McAllen Memorial HS) had 18 assists against UAPB and 24 against TSU, and added nine digs against the Tigers. Sophomore setter Sandy Darway (San Luis Obispo, CA/Arroyo Grande HS) had 14 assists in the first game and 19 in the second.

Senior outside hitter Jaclyn Muszynski (Walnut, CA/Walnut HS) had 17 kills and hit .583 in the nightcap, after having 16 kills and 10 digs and hitting .625 against the Golden Lions. Junior outside hitter Cathi Netemeyer (Los Fresnos, TX/Los Fresnos HS/Iowa) hit .571 against Texas Southern, while sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Redd (Seguin, TX/Seguin HS) had eight kills and hit .583 against UAPB. The Lady Broncs hit .432 in the first match, and .371 in the second.

"The Texas Southern match was a really good battle," said UTPA Head Coach Dave Thorn. "They played great defense, and they battle for every single point, and they had some really tough serves that caused us problems. We handled them well at the net, and we played with control and intensity. In the first match, we came out and took control right from the beginning. "We played Arkansas-Pine Bluff last weekend at TCU and we started off slowly, but this time we came out fired up and got stronger, and that's what you want to see."

The Lady Broncs improved to 6-7 with the victories, while UAPB fell to 3-8. Texas-Pan American concludes tournament action when they play Grambling and Dillard Saturday.