PINE BLUFF -- The Lady Lions kept their half-game lead over Southern and held on to second place behind Division leading Texas Southern with a 3-1 win over Grambling on Tuesday night. UAPB improved to 10-19 overall and 3-2 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, while GSU slipped to 3-23 and 1-6.

Ashlie Jones and Ayanna Parker had 14 kills apiece to lead the Lady Lions. Whitney Harris also had double-digit kills for UAPB, finishing with 12 kills. Jones and Parker also had 11 digs each. Courtney Brand led the defense with 21 digs and Jordan Foyer added 45 assists.

Asia Drenon led GSU with 13 kills and Tiara McIver had 12 kills and 11 digs. Kierra Hogan and Breonna Loud split the assists, finishing with 22 and 19 respectively. Chantel McGill had 16 digs to lead the Lady Tigers.

The Lady Lions won the closely contested opening set 25-23, but dropped the second set 25-21. However, UAPB would rebound to take the next two sets 25-21 and 25-22 to close out the match.

UAPB out-hit Grambling 56 kills to 48. For the match, the Lady Lions had a hitting percentage of .236, while GSU hit .182.

The Lady Lions will be on the road on Thursday and Friday for a pair of crucial matches against Prairie View and Texas Southern.