LAKE CHARLES, La. | Grambling State opened the final day of the Cowgirl Classic with a strong first-set performance Friday but could not maintain its momentum, falling to Oral Roberts 3-1 at Townsley Law Arena.
The Tigers won the opening set 25-21 before Oral Roberts responded with three consecutive set victories, winning 25-23, 25-16 and 25-20 to take the match.
GSU fell to 3-8 overall with the loss.
The Tigers came out aggressively in the opening set, overcoming a competitive start to take a 25-21 victory. Oral Roberts answered in the second set, edging Grambling State 25-23 to even the match.
The Golden Eagles carried that momentum into the third set, building an early advantage and pulling away for a 25-16 victory. Oral Roberts then closed out the match in the fourth set, 25-20.
Lyric Jordan led Grambling State with 12 kills on 52 attacks and finished with 14.5 points. Bailey Hollis added seven kills and was a force at the net with eight block assists and one solo block, finishing with 12 points.
Nile Johnson contributed four kills, seven block assists and one solo block while hitting .300 for the match. Kenya Lucas added eight kills and one block assist.
Reece Cook paced the Tigers with 13 assists, while Alayna Howard recorded 17 assists. Asialin Powell led Grambling State defensively with 31 digs, while Piper Nelson added 16 digs.
Grambling State finished with 38 kills and 35 assists while recording 83 digs and seven service aces. The Tigers also registered four solo blocks and 20 block assists.
Oral Roberts finished with 43 kills and a .122 hitting percentage. Ana Stojicic led the Golden Eagles with 13 kills, while Ciara Cunningham added 12 and Jaya Tarver finished with eight kills while hitting .389.
UP NEXT
Grambling State opens Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play on the road at Alcron State on Friday, Sept. 25. The match is set for 6 p.m. start at the Davey L. Whitney Complex in Lorman, Miss.
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