Pierre paces Bethune-Cookman past Savannah State

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Delicia Pierre had 10 kills and eight digs to pace a balanced Bethune-Cookman output as the Lady Cats downed Savannah State 3-0 (25-15,25-16, 25-12) in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference match Sunday in Historic Moore Gym.

Hazel Ortiz Rosado contributed 28 assists, four kills, nine digs and two services aces as Bethune-Cookman (4-13 overall, 2-0 MEAC) hit a season high .333 and concluded the opening week of league played tied with Florida A&M for the Southern Division lead.

Normarie Rolon had 19 digs, and Rhea Simon 10 digs and seven kills.

Bethune-Cookman never trailed in the match, and Savannah State (3-13,0-2) managed just three ties, two in the third set. The Lady Cats pulled away from a 5-5 tie in that set with a 9-2 run.

Pierre started the match strong, registering five kills on seven attempts in the first set that saw B-CU score the first five points.

The Lady Cats led by as many as 12 points in the second set. The Tigers used a five-point run to close to 21-14, but Bethune-Cookman scored three consecutive points to regain control.

Rakaya Neely registered six kills and two blocks, and Destiny Hudson added five kills. Nine differentLady Cats posted at least one kill.

Bethune-Cookman hosts North Carolina A&T Friday night.

For complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com or www.ssuathletics.com

 

 

Coppin State knocks off Norfolk State in home opener

BALTIMORE – After spending lots of quality time away from campus to begin its 2014 season, the Coppin State volleyball team was delighted to enjoy the comforts of home.

Playing in the friendly confines for the first time this season, Coppin State treated its faithful supporters to a 3-1 victory over Norfolk State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) match Sunday afternoon in the Auxiliary Gym that felt more like the inside of an E-Z Bake oven.

In extending their home match winning streak to eight, the Eagles won the match 25-12, 25-18, 20-25, 25-17. Coppin State improved its overall record to 7-8 and conference mark to 1-1. Norfolk State dropped to 0-14 overall and 0-2 in the conference. Coppin State has also won seven straight home matches against MEAC opponents.

It was also a celebratory afternoon for the Eagles as junior Chelsee Sauni and senior Ariel Richard were honored between the second and third matches for achieving significant milestones. Sauni was feted for her 2,000th career assist and Richard was recognized for her 1,000th career kill. Each student-athlete was the second in Coppin volleyball history to reach those distinguished plateaus in their respective categories.

They each continued their assault on the all-time leaders during the match. Sauni handed out 42 assists to raise her career total to 2,405. Sauni moved to within 93 assists of surpassing Krystal Williams’ program standard of 2,495, which was set in 2005.

Richard had 10 kills to up her career total to 1,075, five shy of passing Brittany Arvin’s mark of 1,079, which was established in 2008. Richard also enjoyed a .389 hitting percentage for the Eagles.

The kills leader for the Eagles was Cindy Okpegbue, who had a match-high 20 along with 11 digs for her second double-double of the season. It was the seventh time in her career, Okpegbue finished with at least 20 kills in a match. Maya Horner and Kandace Thomas also collected seven kills each for the Eagles. As a team, Coppin State had 49 kills, the third time in its last four matches, and collected at least 40 as a team.

Otero had a match-high 17 digs while Kendra Ireigbe added five blocks.

Leading Norfolk State was Janay Frazier (seven kills), Darcy Moore (assists) and Noelle Eagles (10 digs).

Coppin State returns to action Friday night when it hosts Hampton in a MEAC championship rematch at 7:00 p.m.

For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com or www.nsuspartans.com

 

 

Hornets blanked by Howard

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The Delaware State University volleyball team fell to 0-2 in the MEAC North after a 3-0 loss to Howard at Burr Gymnasium this afternoon. The scores were 25-11, 25-17 and 25-13.

Howard’s Khaila Donaldson led all players with 13 kills on 25 attacks (.440 percentage). Stephanie Shultis had a match-high 33 assists, while Allyson Lods collected 13 digs for the Bison.

Jasmine Jackson led the Hornets with nine kills on 26 attempts (.192). Nevershi Ellis and Ayanna Lee topped the team with six digs each.

The Bison recorded 45 kills on 91 attacks (.396 percentage) in the match. Howard had 43 assists and 36 digs.

Delaware State had 20 kills (.111) and 29 digs in the match. 

The Hornets fell to 0-11 overall this season, while the Bison improved to 8-8.

Delaware State returns to action next Friday (Oct. 3) at home against NJIT in the Hornets’ annual Dig Pink match to raise awareness in the fight against Breast Cancer. The contest begins at 7 pm in Memorial Hall. 

For complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com or www.hubison.com

 

 

Lady Rattlers score Sunday sweep of South Carolina State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida A&M Volleyball team won their second conference match of the season, scoring a 3-0 decision (25-15, 25-5, 25-22) over South Carolina State Sunday at the Al Lawson center.

FAMU (4-10, 2-0 in MEAC), led by the trio of Pamela Soriano, Ginna Lopez-Chavez and Yeshia Arcia, stormed to a two-set lead, allowing SCSU just five points in the second.

But the Lady Bulldogs (0-16, 0-2) would not go quietly, pushing FAMU to the brink of a fourth set in the third period, but unforced errors by SCSU sealed the match for the home team.

Soriano finished with a match-high 16 kills, with Lopez-Chavez and Arcia each adding eight kills. Joanie Del Castillo had a team-high 17 digs, while Valeria Lopez dished out 20 assists.

SCSU was paced by Shandice Sluch with five kills.

For complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com or www.scsuathletics.com

 

 

Strakova and Kraskura lead Hampton past Morgan State

BALTIMORE, Md. – The senior duo of Vendula Strakova and Krista Kraskura led the Hampton University volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-14, 25-18) against Morgan State on Sunday afternoon at the Talmadge Hill Field House.

The Lady Pirates improved to 7-8 overall and 2-0 in MEAC play.

Strakova led the Lady Pirates with 24 kills and 12 digs, recording her ninth double-double of the season while also hitting a team-best .474. Kraskura added 15 kills, while senior setter Kitija Megne (Kuldiga, Latvia) had 42 assists and a team-high three aces.

Junior Allysa Medina had a team-high 13 digs.

Hampton held a 48-43 edge in digs and led 13.0-7.0 in team blocks. This came on top of the Lady Pirates hitting .342 (51 kills and 13 errors in 111 attacks) for the match and holding Morgan State to just .130 hitting.

The Lady Pirates will return to Baltimore, Md. on Friday to take on Coppin State at 6 p.m.

For complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.morganstatebears.com