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Box Score

HOUSTON – The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs volleyball team opened the season with a 3-1 loss to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin Cajuns on Friday at the Marriott Houston Westchase Classic, hosted by Houston Baptist University, at Sharp Gym.
 
The Broncs won the third set 25-22, but dropped the first set 25-21, the second set 25-17, and the fourth set 25-19.
 
Junior Diara Reynolds led the Broncs (0-1) with eight kills in 31 attacks while junior Krysta Freitas posted seven kills. Senior Nycole Masaki had a team-high 28 assists. Three Broncs reached double-figures in digs, led by Freitas with 17, junior Nausheen Merchant with 14 and freshman Alisha Watson with 13. Sophomore Haley Durham posted a match-high seven blocks.
 
Three Ragin Cajuns (1-0) reached double-figures in kills, led by Sara Mossakowski, who had a match-high 15 kills to go with a .400 hitting percentage. Lavinia Tataran recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs while Tonice White posted 11 kills. Andrea Hole also had a double-double with a match-high 42 assists and 11 digs. Caitlyn Auxilien posted a match-high 22 digs.
 
The Ragin Cajuns jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first set, but the Broncs took advantage of five attack errors during a 7-1 run to pull within 11-9. The Broncs got within one three times, at 13-12, 20-19 and 21-20, but that's as close as they got.
 
The second set featured eight ties in the early going, the last of which came at 9-9. The Ragin Cajuns followed by scoring four-straight points as part of a 9-2 run to pull away.
 
Merchant and Masaki each served up early aces in the third set as the Broncs ran out to a 10-4 lead. The Broncs went up by as many as nine at 20-11 before holding on for the win.
 
There were four ties and three lead changes in the fourth set, as the Broncs led 14-13 on a Freitas kill, but the Ragin Cajuns used a 6-1 run to pull away for the victory.
 
The Broncs continue tournament action on Saturday at noon against the University of Nebraska at Omaha and then at 7:30 p.m. against host Houston Baptist.