Bethune-Cookman Falls to South Carolina Upstate, 3-0
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Bethune-Cookman's Krysta Gardner had a 14-kill, 10-dig double-double with a career-high seven service aces, but South Carolina Upstate defeated the Lady Wildcats 3-0 (25-23,25-21,25-15) Sunday afternoon in historic Moore Gym.
Morgan Thomas led the Spartans (7-13) with 13 kills, while Emily Sanders had 26 assists and eight digs.
Janeen Davis had nine kills for the Lady Wildcats (9-12).
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com
UMES Proves Too Much in 3-0 Win over Norfolk State
NORFOLK, Va. - UMES proved why it is favored to win the MEAC Northern Division and possibly the MEAC title this year as the Hawks quickly dispatched the Norfolk State volleyball team, 3-0, Sunday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall.
Improving their record to 14-6 overall, 5-0 in the MEAC, the Hawks won, 25-15, 25-18, 25-14, and dropped NSU to 6-11 overall, 2-3 in conference play.
Junior Charlotte Armstead posted a team-high 10 kills, while freshman Adriana Ramos added five kills, six digs and two blocks. Senior libero Tracey Copley tied for the match high with 11 digs, and junior Kristen Burt totaled 20 assists.
UMES was led by the duo of Saitaua Iosia and Kaveinga Lea'Aetoa with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, as the Hawks hit .291 for the match, including .429 in the first set alone. Maline Vaitai added 11 digs and seven kills, and Jessica Vicic posted 27 assists and six digs.
The Spartans hit .044 for the match, and were hitting just .000 after the second set. UMES held advantages in digs, 40-35, and blocks, 5-4. The Hawks had 37 kills and just 12 attack errors for the match.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.umeshawks.com
South Carolina State Rallies To Defeat NCCU, 3-0
DURHAM, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) - In spite of battling through 13 ties and five lead changes, the North Carolina Central University volleyball team could not overpower the Bulldogs of South Carolina State, who rallied to a three-set (25-23, 25-19, 27-25) win over the Eagles on Sunday in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.
The Eagles relied on the offensive efforts of freshman Dayanna Arrufat and senior Emanuelle Santos, who finished the contest with 14 kills and 10 kills, respectively. Contributing to the offensive effort with 31 assists was sophomore Jzima-Malaki Kalao. Senior Raven King added 13 digs to the defense, followed by Kalao who finished with seven. Santos and senior Tasha-Gaye Richards round out the Eagles defensive leadership with three assisted blocks apiece.
Shabree Roberson led the South Carolina State offensive with 15 kills, while Desire Waller added 12 kills to the win. Bulldog setter Bria Brimmer collected 33 of the 35 assists.
On the offensive end, Waller dominated the front and back court with nine digs and five total blocks.
NCCU drops to 2-21 on the season and 2-3 within the MEAC, while South Carolina State improved to 13-11 on the season and 4-0 in conference play.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com or www.scsuathletics.com
Elkayam Breaks School Record As Lady Pirates Win In Five
HAMPTON, Va. - Hampton had a historic day at Holland Hall on Sunday, beating conference foe Delaware State 3-2 (23-25, 25-15, 26-28, 25-18, 15-4).
The Lady Pirates improved to 9-9 on the season and 4-1 in MEAC play, while Delaware State, dropping its third straight match, fell to 3-15 overall and 2-4 in the conference. Hampton won its first match over Delaware State since 2005.
Senior Lihi Elkayam recorded 44 assists to break the program's all-time career assists record. She broke the mark previously held by Brenda Gonzalez (1998-2001) in the second set, and now has 2,598 assists for her career.
Freshman Krista Kraskura gave Hampton a 5-4 lead in the first set, before Delaware State responded to take a 7-5 lead. The Lady Pirates fought back, taking an 8-7 lead after a kill from junior Mariah Baylor and a service ace from senior Mianna Armstrong .
Junior Ornela Cadavid recorded her first kill of the match to put Hampton up 12-11, but the Lady Hornets answered with a 6-1 spurt to take a 17-13 lead and control of the set. Hampton closed to within two, 24-22, but Delaware State held on.
Hampton hit .212 as a team, recording 62 kills and 24 errors in 179 total attacks. The Lady Pirates hit a team-best .357 (13 kills, three errors in 28 attacks), while also hitting .350 (eight kills, one error in 20 attacks) in the decisive fifth set.
The Lady Pirates also held a 7-5 edge in service aces.
Delaware State hit .124 as a team, with 52 kills and 29 errors in 185 attacks. The Lady Hornets hit a team-best .270 in the first set, thanks to 14 kills and four errors in 47 attacks - while also hitting .250 (18 kills, seven errors in 44 attacks) in the third set.
Hampton held the Lady Hornets to -.045 hitting in the fifth set.
Kraskura led the Lady Pirates with 18 kills to go along with 21 digs on defense for her sixth double-double of the season. She hit .326 for the match, recording just four errors in 33 attacks. Armstrong added 15 kills and 22 digs - her fifth double-double of the season -hitting .256.
Jessica Russell-Croucher led the Lady Hornets with 21 kills, while Christobel Fakaosi had 44 of the team's 48 assists. Sonya Inderbitzin led four Delaware State players in double figures in digs with 17.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.dsuhornets.com
North Carolina A&T Notches First Win of the Year
Three North Carolina A&T volleyball players either surpassed or tied career highs as the Aggies earned their first win of the season with a 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-16) win over Savannah State Sunday afternoon at Corbett Sports Center.
Sophomore Tatiana Cooper led the way as she tied a career high with 14 kills on a season-high .407 hitting percentage. Sophomore Jeana Daniels added a career-best 13 kills and fellow sophomore Devonte' Reese set career highs in kills (10) and hitting percentage (.369).
N.C. A&T (1-21, 1-4 MEAC) ended its 39-match losing streak by overcoming adversity in the second set. After breezing to a first set win, the Aggies took control of the second set 12-2. Savannah State (0-19, 0-5) took a timeout and came back with an efficient offense. The Tigers outscored the Aggies 14-4 after the timeout, making only one attack error in the process.
The Tigers turned their momentum into a 23-20 lead as Bridgette Stevens scored on a service ace, prompting Clifton to call timeout.
Junior Andrea Evans turned the set back in the Aggies favor as she made a superb dig of a Bianca Helton attack. Evans' pass was lobbed perfectly in the air for Reese as she hammered the ball to the floor to put the Aggies down one at 23-22. Daniels tied the match and SSU's Bryana Gadis gave the Aggies the lead with an attack error.
Chika Jones tied the match for the Tigers with a kill, but Chelsea Fox and Daniels blocked Gadis' next attack to give the Aggies a 25-24 lead. The set ended on a Nabori Perez attack error.
Reese and Daniels combined for nine kills in the final set and the Aggies recorded a .379 hitting percentage to put the match away in three.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com or www.ssuathletics.com