Bethune-Cookman stops Florida A&M’s conference win streak
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Rakaya Neely posted 13 kills and six blocks as Bethune-Cookman snapped a 38-match losing streak to Florida A&M Sunday, downing the Rattlers for the first time ever with a 3-0 victory (25-20,25-22,25-21) in Moore Gymnasium.
The freshman hit .522 to help the Lady Cats (10-19 overall, 8-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference South) finish the regular season with their best record percentage-wise in league play.
Delicia Pierre added nine kills and seven kills for Bethune-Cookman, a seniorless team that found something to celebrate other than Senior Day in its regular season finale.
Florida A&M (11-14, 9-1) easily swept the Lady Cats 3-0 in the first meeting October 10 in Tallahassee to extend the winning streak in the series that started when Bethune-Cookman first fielded a team in 1987. This time, Bethune-Cookman outhit the Rattlers .252-.161 and committed seven less errors.
Lauren Turner added seven kills and five blocks for the Lady Cats, while Normarie Rolon paced the defense with 13 digs. Ortiz-Rosado posted 31 assists, and the two service aces boosted her MEAC-leading total to 51.
Bethune-Cookman earned the South Division’s second seed for the conference tournament beginning a week from Thursday in Baltimore.
For complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com or www.famuathletics.com
Howard rolls past Coppin State for ninth straight win
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Coppin State volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Howard University in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division match at Burr Gymnasium Sunday afternoon.
Howard (18-9 overall) claimed its ninth straight victory and assured itself of at least a share of the Northern Division regular season title by winning 25-13, 25-16, 26-28, 25-18.
For the second consecutive match, Ariel Richard led Coppin State in kills with 12. She averaged 14 during the Eagles’ season ending road trip to NJIT and Howard. Kandace Thomas added 10 kills, a team-high four blocks and a .321 hitting percentage for the Eagles, who finished the regular season with a 13-13 overall record.
It’s the first time in the 27-year history of the program that Coppin State finished the regular season with a .500 or better record.
Other key standouts for Coppin State were Gabrielle Otero (17 digs) and Chelsee Sauni (38 assists). As a team, the Eagles finished with 42 kills. Coppin State did overcome a 21-15 deficit to claim an exciting third set victory. Richard had six of her kills in the third set as Coppin State staved off two match points to force a fourth set.
Pacing a balanced Howard were Assata Conway and Khalia Donaldson with 11 kills each. Donaldson also had 11 digs for Howard. Overall, five Bison players had at least seven kills. Stephanie Shultis, who had a .571 hitting percentage, had 42 of Howard’s 53 assists. Allyson Lods had 17 digs.
Coppin State will be the third seed from the Northern Division and open the 2014 MEAC tournament at home against the second seed from the Southern Division, most likely Bethune-Cookman on Friday, Nov. 21 at 10:00 a.m. The MEAC office will release complete tournament pairings at a later date.
For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com or www.hubison.com
NSU Caps 2014 Season with Senior Day Win over DSU, 3-1
NORFOLK, Va. – Tied at 1-1 in the match and facing a two-point deficit late in the third set, it was do-or-die for the Norfolk State volleyball team against Delaware State on Sunday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall. But on a Senior Day when the Spartans said goodbye to four players, NSU would not be denied.
Down 23-21, NSU received a pair of kills from one of those seniors, Kylee Thiim, as the Spartans won the last four points of the third set. They then pulled away in the fourth for a 3-1 win over the Hornets to put a positive stamp on the 2014 season.
The Spartans dug themselves into a hole after DSU cruised through the last half of the first set and won 25-14. NSU got the spark it needed in the second, eventually going up by 10 before winning 25-17. A close third set fell in the Spartans’ favor, 25-23, and they were in control throughout the entire fourth set in a 25-18 win.
NSU did not outplay DSU, at least according to the stat sheet. The Spartans did benefit from having more swings, as they finished with 15 more kills. They also had to overcome a 14-4 DSU edge in blocks.
The Spartans finished the 2014 season 2-22 overall and 2-10 in the MEAC. Delaware State fell to 1-25, 1-0 in conference play.
For all the attention on the four seniors, which also included Adriana Ramos, Jasmin Flowers and Noelle Eagles, it was junior Angie Darcus who again led NSU. She finished with her second straight triple-double, tallying 21 assists, 13 digs and 11 kills.
Junior Jessica Johnson and sophomore Tori Tulensru each had nine kills for NSU.
Jasmine Jackson led the Hornets with 12 kills and 14 digs. Jae Jackson had 10 blocks, while Ariana Stevens added nine blocks. As an offense, DSU hit .135, slightly better than NSU at .132.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.dsuhornets.com
Hampton celebrates Senior Day with win
HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team said goodbye to five seniors in style Sunday afternoon at Holland Hall, closing out the 2014 home slate with a 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18) win over Maryland Eastern Shore.
The Lady Pirates (17-10, 10-1 MEAC) have won 12 of their last 14 matches.
Head coach Karen Weatherington is now just one win shy of 100 for her career.
Senior rightside Vendula Strakova led the way with 21 kills and a team-high 17 digs, recording her 17th double-double of the season. Senior outside hitters Krista Krskura and Sonja Maksimovic had nine and eight kills, respectively.
Kraskura added 11 digs.
Senior setter Kitija Megne had 39 assists and 12 digs to go along with three service aces. Junior libero Allysa Medina added 15 digs.
Medina and senior middle blocker Marija Kocevska each had three aces.
The Lady Pirates hit .228 (52 kills, 21 errors in 136 attacks) and led 12-4 in aces. UMES (11-17, 4-8 MEAC) held a 9.0-2.0 edge in blocks and hit .192 (38 kills, 14 errors in 125 attacks) for the match.
The Lady Pirates will be in Dover, Del. on Friday, closing out the regular season at Delaware State at 6 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.umeshawks.com