ITTA BENA, Miss.| The Alabama A&M volleyball team ended their final road match with a victory, claiming a decisive 3-0 win over Mississippi Valley State on Monday night.
The Bulldog offense was led by seniors Fatima Ramirez and Saldy Amparo-Smith, who recorded eight and six kills respectively. Ramirez and Kennedy Robinson led the team in digs, with eight a piece while Saniya Spalding blocked a team-high five balls. Laela Price added a duo of service aces in addition to seven assists. Grace Tapscott led AAMU with 11 assists.
The Delta Devils were led by Alaya Rhodes, who led the team both in kills and digs, with nine and 14 respectively. Mikayla Lee touched all but two balls in play, leading the team with 24 of the 26 assists.
Set One
The first set was a battle for each point until a bad set from MVSU gave AAMU the spark it needed to go on a 6-0 run to take a 12-8 lead. The Bulldogs won 11 of the next 13 points to bring the set within two at 23-10. The Devilettes received the ball back after a Bulldog service error, but a bad set and an attack error gave the Maroon and White the frame, 25-11.
Set Two
AAMU led by as many as five before Mississippi Valley won four-of-five straight points to narrow the gap to 11-9. Three consecutive kills by three different Bulldogs expanded their lead to 14-10, but a pair of Alabama A&M errors and an MVSU service ace pulled the Delta Devils back within one at 14-13. Each team traded points until a kill from Amparo-Smith and a bad set on behalf of MVSU put the Bulldogs at set point. A termination from Ramirez solidified the stanza in favor of the visitors, 25-22.
Set Three
The third set saw a tight contest early on, but the Devilettes managed to go on a 4-0 run to put them ahead 8-4. After each team earned another point, the Bulldogs added four unanswered points of their own to level the match at 9-9. The contest saw a tied score. six more times until consecutive errors ballooned the Bulldog lead to three at 20-17. The Delta Devils claimed six of the next eight points to get them within two of the set and threatened a fourth frame. The pressure was too much, as they logged a pair of errors to move AAMU to set point, and a service ace from Price out of the timeout confirmed the Bulldog sweep over the Devilettes.
The Alabama A&M Bulldogs look to host their final home matches on Friday and Saturday. Friday's match against Alcorn State is set to start at 6 p.m. and will serve as Heroes Appreciation Day. Fans are encouraged to wear camo. For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics – Huntsville's only Division I program - check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Follow the volleyball team on Instagram and X.
