Box Score JACKSON, Miss. – Alabama A&M (2-15, 2-3 SWAC) a pair of matches on the first day of the SWAC Eastern Division Cluster One, losing 3-0 to Arkansas-Pine Bluff (6-12, 4-0 SWAC) and winning (3-1) against Grambling (6-9, 3-2 SWAC) in NCAA Division I women's volleyball action on Saturday, October 9.
The Bulldogs fell 25-19, 25-13, 25-9 to UAPB and won 25-16, 29-27, 18-25 and 25-21 against the Tigers.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 3, Alabama A&M 0
The Bulldogs opened the set leading 6-3 before the Golden Lions had a 5-0 burst to pull away by two. UAPB would extend their margin by scoring eight of the next 14 points for an 18-12 lead. They would then wrap up the set by earning the seven of the final nine points to win 25-19.
The Bulldogs started the second frame with a narrow 10-8 lead before Arkansas- Pine Bluff unleashed a 7-0 stretch to push the score to 15-10. AAMU would get one back before the Golden Lions had an 8-0 rally for a 23-11 lead before wrapping up the set by scoring two of the final three points to win 25-13.
In the final set, UAPB opened with a 5-0 lead before the Bulldogs responded with 4-1 burst to close the gap to two.
The Golden Lions would extend their lead by unleashing a 7-0 rally before A&M had a single point and UAPB would make five straight points to push their margin to 24-6. The teams would then go back and forth before They would then score the final two points to win the set, and the match, with a 25-9.
Freshman middle hitter
Sydney Morant (Columbus, Ohio) led the Bulldogs in kills with four and freshman setter
Aerienne Acuff (French Lick, Ind.) fueled the offense with five assists.
Sophomore setter
Isis Mitchell (Plano, Texas) chipped in with seven digs while senior defensive specialist
Maci Battle (Meridanville, Ala.) added four digs and senior outside hitter
Ashley Jordan had five to round out the top performers.
Kori Diego and Zykia Jones had 10 and seven digs, respectively for the Golden Lions. Nikole Akamine fueled the offense for UAPB with 16 assists and Zyon Smith dished out 11 digs.
Alabama A&M 3, Grambling 1
A&M jumped out to a massive 18-9 lead in the first set before the Tigers gained six of the next eight points to close the gap to 20-15. The Bulldogs would respond by scoring five of the next six points, however, to win the set 25-16.
Grambling built a 14-9 lead to open the second set before A&M used a 4-1 burst to only be down by two points. The Tigers put together a 4-0 run before A&M delivered their own 6-1 stretch to pull ahead 20-19. From there the teams would be separated by no more than one point before the Bulldogs pulled out the narrow 29-27 victory.
GSU built a 19-12 advantage in the third set before A&M used a 5-2 run to close the gap to four. The Tigers would respond by scoring four of the final five points to win their first set of the match 25-18.
In what would be the final frame, AAMU took a slim 4-3 lead before unleashing an 8-0 rally that would put them ahead 12-3. the Tigers would respond with a 4-0 burst to close to within five. With the score at 18-11 GSU put together a 9-1 run to flip the script 20-19.
That lead would not last, however, as the Bulldogs would then score five of the final six points to win the set and match 25-21.
Morant, freshman outside hitter
Kori Mills (Hiram, Ga) and freshman middle hitter
Alondrah Santana (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) led the Bulldogs with 13,12 and 11 kills, respectively. Mitchell ignited the offense with 19 assists while Acuff finished with 15. Battle dished out 23 digs to round out the top performers.
Tamaira Jonson had 14 kills for the Tigers while Gillian Jones notched 10 and Kalee Cadwell fueled the offense with 18 assists. Jada Taylor led the defense with 20 digs and Maurisa Harris had 12.
The Bulldogs will return to the court on Sunday, October 10 for their final game of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Eastern Division Cluster as they battle against Texas Southern. Game time is slated for 9 a.m.
