Bethune-Cookman Volleyball faced off with Winston-Salem State Friday night at Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Fla. It was a very special evening for the Lady Cats, as they played their final match with three seniors, two of which were in the first recruiting class under Head Coach Vanessa Cogswell.

After the Senior Night festivities ended, the energy was high and Bethune-Cookman came out firing, slowly building a lead in the first set before finishing it 25-19. The enthusiasm stayed high in the second set, but the Lady Rams of WSSU made a run twice in the set to tie it up, before B-CU shut them down and closed out the set. The final set was just as strong as the first and the Lady Cats took control and put WSSU away for the match.

Several WSSU rallies were put down by solid defense leading to strong serving strings by Shanicka Reddick and Daryl Rodriguez.

Bethune-Cookman played together as a team and shared the wealth statistically, with no clear leaders in most categories. On kills, Chelle Ticeson led the team with eight, while Danielle Goodrum had seven, Reina Carson had six, and Talisha Black finished with five. At the setter position, Cogswell ran a rotation between her setters; Daryl Rodriguez finished with 12 assists and Julie Gibson tallied 11. Shakhea Moore-Hagins led the teams in digs with 11.

Three players ended the match with three service aces each; Kaiyana Johnson, Daryl Rodriguez, and Shanicka Reddick.

For Winston-Salem State, Annika Barnwell led the team with 7 kills. Setter Valentina Pushkina finished with 22 assists, and Ebony Brown got 9 digs.

The B-CU LadyCats finish the regular season 9-16 (3-5 MEAC) and head to Hampton, Va. next Friday to face Howard at 3:30 p.m. in the MEAC Volleyball Championships.