CANYON, Texas – Bulldog Volleyball was on the short side of a pair of four-set matches on Friday as they opened the 2021 season at the West Texas A&M Lady Buff Classic in Canyon.
 
SWOSU will close out the event on Saturday, taking on West Texas A&M at 11:30 am and St. Edward's at 4:30 pm.
 
 
Texas-Permian Basin 3, SWOSU 1
Box Score
 
SWOSU won the opening set of the season 25-21 over the Falcons, but UTPB's offense connected for 44 kills against just eight errors over the final three sets as they came back to win the match. The Bulldogs finished with 48 kills and 22 attack errors to hit .174 for the match.
 
Chezney Nielsen led the Dawgs with nine kills while Maicee Morgan and Taryn Galt added eight apiece. Markenzie Benoit had four blocks, helping SWOSU to a 6-to-5 edge at the net, while Allie Hoang kicked off her senior campaign with a double-double of 36 assists and 16 digs.
 
Arkansas-Fort Smith 3, SWOSU 1
Box Score
 
After dropping the first set 25-20, SWOSU came from five points down late in the second set to win it 26-24 and even the match at 1-1. The Bulldogs again rallied from behind and had a set point in the third before Fort Smith scored the final three points to win the set 26-24 and pull ahead 2-1. The Lions would seize the momentum at that point and pull ahead for the win, taking the fourth set 25-15 to close things out.
 
Lacy Mott had a team-high 11 kills for the Bulldogs while Nielsen had nine, MacKenzie Harless had eight and Benoit added seven. Allie Hoang directed the offense to the tune of 37 assists to go along with nine digs, while Sophia DeSantiago recorded a team-high 14 digs. Benoit was again stout at the net with eight blocks.