BATON ROUGE, La. – Hitting their stride coming down the stretch, Alabama A&M (7-21, 6-6 SWAC) took their first two matches at the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Round Up with a 3-1 victory over Alcorn State (3-21, 2-9 SWAC) and 3-0 over Southern (2-22, 2-10 SWAC) in a pair of NCAA Division I women's volleyball match on Sunday, October 30. They defeated the Braves 25-20, 23-25, 25-14, 25-18 and the Jaguars 25-14, 25-20, 25-19.
 
ALABAMA A&M 3, ALCORN STATE 1
The clubs would battle through three ties over the first 13 points as A&M took a narrow 7-6 lead before the Braves notched four straight points for a 10-7 advantage. That would not last, however, as the Bulldogs scored five straight as part of a 6-1 run that flipped the script and gave them a 13-11 lead midway through.
 
Alcorn would answer with three straight points to take a 14-13 advantage before Alabama A&M doubled them up with a 12-6 run that put an end to the set, 25-20, and gave them a 1-0 match lead.
 
It would be an even closer outing in Game 2 with the Braves taking a 10-6 lead and A&M answering with nine of the next 14 points to deadlock at 15-15. The tide would turn quickly, however as Alcorn barreled out to a 23-18 lead before a 4-0 burst as part of a 5-1 run cut the deficit to one on a pair of occasions but a kill by Demya Tate evened the match with a 25-23 decision.
 
Having come so close to pulling out that set, the Bulldogs left no doubt in the third frame, exploding to 10-3 and 20-11 leads. They would then cruise to a commanding 25-14 victory to pull ahead 2-1. With a key SWAC victory within reach A&M took full advantage with five straight points to open Game 4 on their way to a 17-8 lead. From there the Braves would not get within six points as the Bulldogs locked down the 3-1 match victory with a 25-18 decision.
 
Freshman middle blocker Kemora Coachman (Harvest, Ala.) led the way for Alabama A&M with 13 kills along with six digs and freshman outside hitter Bailey Duckett (Huntsville, Ala.) notched a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs.
 
Freshman setter Grace Tapscott (Hartselle, Ala.) dished out 34 assists and freshman outside hitter Caitlin Shaw (Desoto, Texas) added a double-double of her own with 12 kills and 11 digs. Freshman libero Miya Benson (Desoto, Texas) and freshman middle blocker Madison Reagins (Duncanville, Texas) finished with 14 and 13 digs apiece.
 
Makayla Wardlaw anchored Alcorn's effort with nine kills, 14 digs and a pair of service aces while MiKenzie Young-Mullins just missed a double-double with 10 kills and eight digs. Jeda Curry added eight kills and Ramona Pulu finished with 30 assists to round out the top performers.
 
ALABAMA A&M 3, SOUTHERN 0
The Bulldogs would waste no time in jumping out ahead against host Southern, pounding out to leads of 12-4 and 18-8 in Game 1. With a massive 24-10 advantage they would encounter pushback from the Jaguars who scored four straight before finally succumbing 25-14 on a Duckett kill.
 
It would be another fast start in the second set, but this time it would be 5-1 for Southern. It would not last as a pair of kills by Duckett sparked a 6-1 burst that gave A&M a 7-6 lead. It would be a game of runs in the short term from there with four straight from Alcorn and followed by three by the Bulldogs – all to deadlock at 10-10.
 
Trailing 14-12, A&M exploded on offense, taking 12 of the next 14 points to surge to a 24-16 advantage. Four straight points would only delay the inevitable as Alabama A&M finished off a 25-20 victory to go up 2-0.
 
The Bulldogs would methodically build a 15-11 lead in Game 3 only to see another 4-0 run erase that into a 15-15 tie. That would be the last sustained challenge from Southern, however, as A&M closed things out with a 10-4 rally, locking up the sweep with a 25-19 victory.
 
Duckett once again anchored he Alabama A&M performance, finishing with 18 kills and 11 digs while Reagins had six kills and four digs. Shaw added nine kills and Tapscott fueled the offense with 31 assists. Coachman rounded things out with nine digs.
 
Xaria Taylor led the Jaguars with nine kills and four block assists and Jordan Felix added seven kills and 11 assists. Iyanah Taylor chipped in with seven assists to cap the top performances.
 
Barring any tricks, the Bulldogs will look to wrap up the trip with a treat in an 11 a.m. match against Texas Southern tomorrow, Monday, October 31.