HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Alabama A&M (4-21, 3-6 SWAC) hung with one of the top teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) for three sets but could not pull off the upset as Jackson State (8-13, 7-2 SWAC) notched a 3-0 victory by scores of 25-20, 25-23 and 25-23 in an NCAA Division I women's volleyball match on Sunday, October 23.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 8-6 lead in Game 1 before JSU responded with a 9-3 run that put them ahead 15-11. From there the clubs would largely alternate points, ending up with the Tigers up 20-16 but a pair of attack errors would cut that margin in half. From there, however, Jackson State would take five of the next seven points to pull out a hard fought 25-20 decision.
Up 1-0 in the match, the Tigers would take the first five points as part of a Game 2 opening 9-4 run. They would quickly see that disappear with a 4-0 Bulldog run but would recover to push to a 12-9 advantage. That would not last as A&M used a 5-2 stretch to tie it at 14-14 but JSU responded with a 5-1 run to go up 19-15.
A&M would then battle back to knot it up at 23-23 but that would be as far as they would get as kills by Alexis Williams and Nevaeh Bray would put the set away at 25-23 to go up 2-0.
It would be another nip-and-tuck affair as the clubs would be separated by no more than three points the entire way in Game 3. They would tie nine times on their way to a 20-20 deadlock, one that would be broken by a JSU attack error for a one-point A&M lead, but the Tigers would answer with four straight to bring the contest to match point. The Bulldogs would take advantage of a service error and ace to stave off the sweep but a kill by Williams on the following play locked up the 3-0 decision.
Freshman outside hitter
Bailey Duckett (Huntsville, Ala.) delivered a solid all-around performance with seven kills, four aces and four digs while fellow freshman outside
Caitlin Shaw (Desoto, Texas) added seven kills of her own. Freshman setter
Grace Tapscott (Hartselle, Ala.) dished out 19 assists with five digs and freshman middle blocker
Madison Reagins (Duncanville, Texas) added six kills. Freshman libero
Miya Benson (Desoto, Texas) rounded out the top performers with eight digs.
Williams cranked 19 kills at a .455 clip to go with eight digs in leading Jackson State while Karys Dove and Damassy Thompson finished with 21 and 20 assists, respectively. Alana Washington led the defense with 13 digs and Trinity Bryant chipped in with eight digs.
Alabama A&M wraps up a brief two-match homestand as they host Mississippi Valley State on Monday, October 24. First serve is set for 6 p.m. in Elmore Gymnasium.
