The Lady Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman claimed victory and avenged a heartbreaking loss from earlier in the season, topping the Lady Hatters of Stetson on Wednesday night, 3-0. The Lady Wildcats defeated the Lady Hatters in scores of 25-14, 25-17, and 25-21, earning their first victory over Stetson since 2004.
Earlier in the year, B-CU faced off with an 0-13 Stetson at the Edmunds Center in DeLand, Fla. Although the Lady Wildcats have not had the best record against Stetson, that looked like an excellent opportunity to get a solid win against the historically strong Volusia county rival. However, B-CU made a few too many costly errors and Stetson played at the top of their game, with the Lady Hatters claiming victory 3-1.
Fast forward a month and a half to tonight's matchup, as Stetson traveled to Moore Gymnasium, and made it clear that a different team showed up than who they played in September. The Lady Wildcats fired right out of the gate, grabbing the momentum and stunning the Lady Hatters, starting off the match with a 10-0 run, at the hands of strong serving by Krysta Gardner which included four service aces. After a single score, Chelle Ticeson took over serving, and extended the lead to 15-2. Although Stetson clawed back into the game, B-CU never trailed and the Lady Hatters didn't mount a comeback until they were down 15 points; B-CU went on to put them away 25-14.
In the second set, Stetson battled it out early in the match, but B-CU broke at 4-3 and began to accumulate a lead. Excellent serving and well timed attacks allowed the Lady Wildcats create a wider margin in the set, going on to win the set 25-17.
With a likely defeat looming, Stetson put up a strong fight in the final set, creating seven tied scores and five lead changes in set three. The Lady Hatters kept the game close and claimed a mid-set lead at 14-13. The Lady Wildcats maintained their focus on the ultimate goal, to claim the match victory, making a recovery from falling behind by four points. Five kills put the Lady Wildcats back on top, this time for good, as B-CU went on to win 25-21 and win the match 3-0.
"This win was a very good win for us," said an excited Head Coach Vanessa Cogswell, "because we can use this as momentum as we move on in conference play, as Friday we take on Norfolk State."
Stetson accumulated 22 kills in the set, led by Sam Freeman, who notched 8 kills. Monique Russell made Stetson's best effort at defending B-CU's attack, collecting nine digs.
As a team, B-CU tallied 48 attacks, with five Lady Wildcats earning notable kill counts. Leading the way for B-CU Jessica Wilson collected 16 kills while hitting .333, and also making nine digs. Following Wilson, Kaiyana Johnson had nine kills, Krysta Gardner and Chelle Ticeson both had seven kills, and setter Julie Gibson came up with six. Gibson set up the attack, leading with 27 assists.
Shakhea Moore-Hagins (14 digs) and Krysta Gardner (12 digs) led the way defensively for B-CU.
It was a strong serving night for B-CU, earning 10 service aces overall, led by Krysta Gardner and Chelle Ticeson with four aces apiece.
Up next for B-CU, one final game in the regular season, as B-CU celebrates Senior Night and honors the careers of Shakhea Moore-Hagins, Daryl Rodriguez, and Chelle Ticeson.
The final home game, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, pits the Lady Wildcats against the Spartans of Norfolk State.