THE HILL | In front of an astonishing home crowd, the Alabama A&M University volleyball team would emerge victorious in its first exhibition of the season against Lane College, 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 15-13).

The Bulldog offense was paced by SWAC Preseason All-Conference Second Team honoree Saldy Amparo-Smith, who charted 22 points, including 19 kills and 10 digs. Huntsville native Bailey Duckett would account for 13 points of her own, picking up a team-high 14 balls from the floor, and killing the ball 12 times.

Junior Grace Tapscott would also provide some offensive balance, logging 19 assists alone, equaling to that of the entirety of the Lane College team. Amparo-Smith, Laela Price, and Kemora Coachman would tie for the lead in aces, with three apiece. The Bulldogs kept the Dragons to just .052 percent hitting on the night.  

Alabama A&M look to host the Betty Austin Invitational from August 30^th -September 1^st in Elmore Gymnasium. Participating teams include Chattanooga, Idaho, Oral Roberts and Southern Illinois. More information, including live stats and live stream can be found here.
 
Set One:
The tone of the first frame was that of nerves, as the first four points of the match were gained off errors. The teams would record three kills apiece before another pair of attack errors would put the Bulldogs in front three at 8-5. Two successive errors and a Lane College kill would close the margin to one. Duckett would captain the extension of the lead back to three, by way of a perfectly placed kill and an ace. Alabama A&M would begin to settle in and find their footing, increasing their lead to six at 19-13. The teams would go point-for-point before the Dragons went on a run of their own, trimming the advantage to three at 21-18. Three kills from Amparo-Smith would bring the Bulldogs within their first set-point, and a final Lane College error would solidify the stanza, 25-19.
 
Set Two:
Lane College would look for revenge at the start of the second set, taking a three-point lead over the Bulldogs. It would not last for long, as AAMU would tally three points of its own. The Dragons would get the ball back after a side-out kill from an extended rally, but would be unable to convert past that point. Three consecutive Lane College attack errors, followed by a kill from freshman Alyssa Williams would give the Bulldogs the early edge at 7-4. Alabama A&M would win four of the next five points, thanks to three terminations from Amparo-Smith, and a service ace from Price, to force a LC timeout. The Bulldogs would find the floor twice more before Lane would claw back and win six of the next seven balls to put them within two. After two challenges would end in favor of the Dragons, both teams would exchange points until a pair of attacks gave the Bulldogs the spark they needed to balloon their lead to eight at 23-15. A kill from junior Saniya Spalding would bring Alabama A&M to set point, and a Dragon attack error would give the Bulldogs the set, 25-16.
 
Set Three:
The Dragons would fight to remain in the match, leveling the score three times before the Bulldogs would tally five unanswered points at 10-6, courtesy of three aces from Amparo-Smith. Lane would call a stoppage at 12-7, but would give up three more notches before gaining one of their own. Both teams would trade points, but a quintet of kills and an ace would put the bulldogs within one of the set, and the match. The Dragons would battle through the first match point but a thunderous cross court termination from Amparo-Smith would give the Bulldogs their first win of the 2024 season, 25-13.
 
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. 
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