Bethune-Cookman ran up against strong competition falling to Furman, 3-0, in games of 25-15, 25-11, 25-19 and then Troy, 3-0, in games of 25-18, 31-29, 25-19.
Match One
In the first match of the tournament for B-CU, facing Furman, the errors played a huge role in the outcome as the team racked up 20 in the three-game set, resulting in a combined hitting percentage of .85, with only three B-CU hitters in the positive on hitting percentage. This led to heavy scoring runs by Furman that put the Lady Wildcats away. However, in the third game of the match, the Lady Wildcats drew upon their focus, cutting down errors significantly, keeping the score tight until deep into the game and recording an extremely improved .308 team hitting percentage.
Leading the Lady Wildcats in the first match, Chelle Ticeson continued on her strong senior campaign, notching a .615 hitting percentage with 8 kills on 13 attacks, with no errors. Following Ticeson, Kaiyana Johnson recorded five kills while hitting .300. Defensively, Jessica Wilson collected a team-high seven digs, followed by Jacqueline Woodyear with four digs. Daryl Rodriguez tied a season-best 25 assists, collecting all but one of the team sets.
"We had two tough losses today", commented Head Coach Vanessa Cogswell, "but I am extremely proud of the fight and heart that we showed today."
"Furman was a strong team with many offensive weapons," said Cogswell. "In each set, we got down early, and it's tough when you start out like that, because it's an up-hill battle from that point forward."
Match Two
The Lady Wildcats returned in the evening, looking more focused and comfortable as they faced Troy University in their second match of the tournament. Bethune-Cookman played a much tighter match against this opponent and created their first extended game of the season (game two) in a match that featured 23 tied scores and 12 total lead changes in the three-game match.
Troy got off to an excellent start in the first game, pushing out to a 5-0 lead, but B-CU responded, bringing the score back to 9-8. However, Troy went on a heavy scoring run, going all the way to a 10-point lead before B-CU responded, ultimately making the scoring margin to wide to overcome, with Troy winning 25-18.
In the second game, however, B-CU made smarter decisions, and more solid plays, keeping the match extremely close, until claiming their first lead at 26-25 as the set extended. The teams battled it out with six lead changes in the extended game, with Troy coming out on top, 31-29.
In the final game of the match, B-CU again held on tightly, keeping the game close the entire way, attempting to minimize unforced errors, with Troy eventually pulling away at 21-18, going on to win 25-19 and take the match, 3-0.
A new leader emerged on offense in this match, as B-CU ran up against the only team that has kept Chelle Ticeson in check in 2009. Jessica Wilson stepped up, notching 10 kills in the match, followed by Ticeson with five and Kaiyana Johnson with four. Wilson also made noise on the defensive phase of the game, again leading the team with seven digs, while Shanicka Reddick and Jacqueline Woodyear both finished with six digs each.
Daryl Rodriguez again matched her season-best 25 assists, while also contributing six digs of her own. A notable high point was the season-high 12 team blocks for the Lady Wildcats, led by Ticeson with five and Johson with two, followed by Sydney Smith with two.
"The biggest positive in the game against Troy was our blocking," noted Cogswell. "We've been drilling the importance of blocking this whole week and you really see the results in this game, as we had a total of 20 team blocks, which I believe could be a team high for all of my seasons here at Bethune-Cookman."
"Today, the players' 'wanted it so much' that they over thought or they put more pressure on themselves than they should," said Cogswell, "Once we figure out what the players can do to control their emotions, we will be unstoppable."
Bethune-Cookman ran up against strong competition falling to Furman, 3-0, in games of 25-15, 25-11, 25-19 and then Troy, 3-0, in games of 25-18, 31-29, 25-19.