LADY LIONS FALL TO BLOSSOMS IN VOLLEYBALL ACTION

By Troy Schulte/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

Sixteen matches into the season the Arkansas-Pine Bluff volleyball team is still trying to find a way to get the ball to where its playmakers can produce points. That, coach Kawanza Bibles said, has been a problem all season.

On Tuesday, against Arkansas-Monticello, the Golden Lions again struggled to find much of an offense when they had 36 attacking errors and a hitting percentage of minus-.061 during UAM’s 25-20, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21 win at H.O. Clemmons Arena.

“We didn’t have an offense at all,” Bibles said. “We weren’t realizing who our go-to players were.”

The most glaring statistic for Bibles was the production from Jenitra Shields, the Golden Lions’ most consistent scoring threat. Bibles didn’t single out Shields because she made errors and hit at a low percentage — Shields had seven kills with five errors and hit .087 — almost every one of her players struggled.

But, for most of the match, Shields didn’t have many opportunities to score.

“Jenitra, our highest scorer, she wasn’t touch ing the ball,” Bibles said. “All of our passes were back.”

Even still, UAPB (1-15) had its chances throughout the match. Following a 25-20 loss in the first game the Golden Lions’ most complete game came in the second. UAPB scored five-straight points to turn a 10-7 game into a 15-7 lead. They then extended the lead to 23-14 before withstanding a late rally and winning 25-20.

The fourth and deciding game was tied twice late — once at 15 and also at 17 — before the Cotton Blossoms pulled away.

Smith said her team was a bit weery from its heavy travel schedule. The Cotton Blossoms (15-11) played three matches last week, all which they lost and two of which were on the road. UAM was also without middle blocker Mallory Storm because of an illness.

“We missed way too many serves,” Smith said. “We made a lot of errors ourselves. They dug more balls than the last time we played them. Pine Bluff worked hard against us.”