Box Score It was a hard fought effort put out by the Lincoln University women's volleyball team Monday night at Manuel Rivero Hall but their efforts came up short as Virginia Union University handed the Lions their fourth  straight loss and second consecutive home loss, 3-0.
The Lions battled throughout all three sets, losing by scores of 25-22, 25-20 and 25-23.  Lincoln falls to 5-19 overall and 4-10 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association games.  The Panthers improve to 12-9 overall, 7-6 in CIAA contests.
Mariah Russell (St. Louis, MO/Maplewood Richmond Heights HS) reached double digits in kills for the eighth time this season, leading the team with 11.  Shanna King (Newark, NJ/University High School) had 17 assists setting the Lion offense while Atarh Lindsey had three aces.   On the defensive side Tierra Russaw (Detroit, MI/Summit Academy ) had 16 digs while Lindsey added eight.
Virginia Union had five different players register at least four kills in the match with Jayshil Oatley leading the team with seven and Kamryn Young recording six.  Jamaica Adams had a match-high four aces.  Oatley and Adams had 12 digs apiece.
The Lions built a 17-6 lead in the opening set before the Panthers went on a scoring spree, producing a 19-5 effort the rest of the set to win 25-22.  Russell had four of the Lions eight kills in the set.  
In the second set, the Panthers used an 8-3 run to turn a 12-12 tie into a five point lead, 20-15.  Lincoln could pull no closer the rest of the way at VUU went up 2-0 in the match with a 25-20 set two win.   Young was a perfect 5-5 attacking for the Panthers who out-killed the Lions 12-8 in the set.
King opened serve in the third set, recording two aces as the Lions jumped out to a 5-0 lead.  The Panthers rallied to tie the game at 7-7 and gradually pulled ahead 16-12 before the Lions rallied to tie the score at 17-17, with most of their points coming on Panther miscues.  Neither team pulled away the rest of the set with VUU holding no more than a two point lead at any time over the final 14 volleys.  A Russell kill put the Lions up 22-21 and an VUU error later gave Lincoln a 23-22 lead the Panthers scored the final three points, all of Lincoln errors to win the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.
The Lions return to action next Monday as they travel south to take on Virginia State University in a CIAA  Northern division match.  Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.