UMES Finishes USF Invitational With Loss To Eastern Kentucky

TAMPA, Fla. - UMES fell to Eastern Kentucky 3-0 (21-25, 18-25, 12-25) on the final day of the USF Invitational on Sunday.  The Hawks finish 1-3 in the invitational while the Colonels improve to 4-4 on the season.

In the first set, Eastern Kentucky came out with an early 9-0 run to take a 12-3 advantage.  UMES attempted a comeback, including four kills from Saitaua Iosia to get within five.  Later with the Colonels up 20-13, the Hawks won seven of the next nine points, with a pair of kills from Ndidi Ibe, to get within two 22-20, but fell short in the game 25-21.

Iosia had three kills early in the third set to try to get UMES on pace.  But the Colonels put together three runs of 4-0 or better to take the third set 25-12 and take the match 3-0.

Iosia, who got 10 kills and six digs against Eastern Kentucky, was named to the All-Tournament Team after scoring 55 kills and 39 digs in the invitational.  Ibe, Maline Vaitai and Kaveinga Lea'Aetoa all finished with five kills a piece.

For the Colonels, Ashley Edmond and Hannah Burkle each recorded 12 kills, while libero Dana Ott got 19 digs.

For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com

Jacksonville downs FAMU, 3-1

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Sept. 4) - In their home opener, the Florida A&M Volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (21-25, 19-25, 25-15, 18-25) to Jacksonville, Sunday afternoon at the Al Lawson Center.

FAMU (0-4) had three Lady Rattlers to finish with double-digit kills, as Katherine Huanec finished with a game high 15 kills, Maria Ceccarelli finished with 14, while Marija Jovanovic added 10.  Diana Gonzales finished with a game 40 assists, while Karol Marquez finished with a game high 22 digs.

JU (5-4) was paced by Alison Loeppky with 14 kills, followed by Taylor Nyquist with 13.  Kendall Courtney tallied a game high 43 assists, while Ashley August led the team in digs with 15.

For the complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com

Bethune-Cookman Falls to USF on Sunday

TAMPA - Bethune-Cookman concluded its stay at the USF Invitational with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-22) loss to the host Bulls Sunday afternoon.

Freshman outside hitter Valerie El Houssine had 15 kills and hit .481 for USF. Krysta Gardner's eight kills led B-CU, while Alexis Bliese had 14 assists and Jennifer Jimenez 11 digs.

B-CU finished in a three-way tie  with USF and UMES with a 1-3 tournament record, but slipped to fifth in the tiebreaker. The Lady Wildcats (2-5) won their opening match against UMES on Friday.

 Janeen Davis garnered a berth on the all-tournament team after registering 62 kills in four matches. The junior had a career-high 23 kills Saturday against Eastern Kentucky.

For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com