CHARLESTON, S.C.--- The Alabama A&M Volleyball team struggled to find success on the road in South Carolina at the Citadel Tournament as they went 0-4 for the weekend.
Match 1: AAMU 1, The Citadel 3
The Lady Bulldogs opened the tournament facing the host, The Citadel. AAMU started off strong in the first set taking an early 6-2 lead with four kills coming from Sophomore Mikel Coleman. The Citadel inched their way back to take a 10-7 lead before the Lady Bulldogs tied the game at 11. After a close match, the Citadel pulled away with a 25-19 win.
In the second set, the two teams traded points seeing eight ties' throughout. The last tie was at 15-15 before AAMU dominated on offense to take a 25-20 over the Citadel to secure the second set. In the third set, two kills from Courtney Oliver and three errors gave the Lady Bulldogs an early 5-0 lead against the Citadel. They would later lead 13-8 before the Citadel rallied back to tie the game at 17. The Lady Bulldogs tried to regain the lead, but were unable to as the Citadel closed out the set with a 25-22.
The final set proved to be another close match for the two teams, seeing eleven ties. However, the Citadel took the final set, 25-17 to secure the match.
Coleman and Syretha Pride led the Lady Bulldogs with 10 kills followed by Paris Smith with nine. Oliver led the team with seven blocks while Cierra Davis added four. Meredith Sieck had the game-high in assists with 35. Sieck and Davis both led the team with 18 digs.
Match 2: AAMU 0, Charleston Southern 3
The Lady Bulldogs faced Charleston Southern for their second match of the tournament seeing back and forth action the majority of the set. AAMU continued to keep their determination throughout the set, but their efforts weren't enough as the Buccaneers came back to win the set 33-31. In the second set, Charleston Southern ran off with a 15-7 and the Lady Bulldogs were unable to comeback as the Buccaneers the set, 25-15.
In the final set, AAMU had a slow start and were unable to rally back as Charleston Southern closed the set with a 25-12 win. Sieck led the Lady Bulldogs with 22 assists and 16 Digs. Terra Brooks led the Lady Bulldogs with 10 kills, Pride had seven and Coleman added four. Helea Figueiredo had 14 digs and Davis add six.
Match 3: AAMU 0, Winthrop 3
The second day of the tournament started with AAMU facing Winthrop University. They dropped the first set 16-25 and in the second set, the Eagles jumped off to a 15-9 lead and extended their lead as the Lady Bulldogs fell 20-25. In the final set, AAMU started off strong with a 7-4 lead. The Eagles responded with five in a row to take a 9-7 lead. The teams continued to trade points before Winthrop eventually secured the set, 25-14.
Match 4: AAMU 0, Jacksonville State 3
In the last match of the tournament, AAMU faced Jacksonville State. The Lady Bulldogs fought hard each set but found themselves at a 20-25, 23-25, 18-25 loss. Sieck had 27 assists and nine digs. Brooks and Jaelin Gant tied at nine in kills and Oliver added six. Davis added eight digs for AAMU followed by Brooks six.
The Lady Bulldogs resumes play September 19 at Jacksonville State. The Southwestern Athletic Conference Round-Up in Houston, Texas begins September 24.
