PINE BLUFF, Ark. | The Alabama A&M volleyball team (3-10, 1-1 SWAC) claimed their first Southwestern Athletic Conference victory after defeating the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (2-14, 0-2 SWAC) in three decisive sets, 25-16, 25-23, 25-21. The Bulldogs now improve to 17-3 in the all-time series with the Golden Lions.
The Bulldogs saw five athletes with hitting percentages over .250%, paced by Kemora Coachman's .600% after killing six balls on 10 swings with no errors. Saldy Amparo-Smith was not far behind, attacking at a .484% after 16 kills on 31 attempts with only one error. Fatima Ramirez was the Bulldogs' second leading scorer, with 15 kills and one service ace. Grace Tapscott notched 16 assists, two service aces and a dig on the night as well. Michell Jerez tallied nine digs to lead the AAMU defense.
Zykia Jones led the Golden Lions offensively with 13 kills and one service ace. She also recorded seven digs on the match. Samantha Newman paced the UAPB defense, with nine digs.
Set One
The match started competitively, with the match leveling twice before AAMU claimed five of the next six points to put them ahead 10-6. UAPB reduced the lead by two, but a six-point rally from the Bulldogs, courtesy of three kills from Amparo-Smith, would put AAMU within two of the set. The Golden Lions notched two more points to keep the set alive, but a pair of kills from Amparo-Smith would solidify the Bulldog point, 25-16.
Set Two
The second frame was that of a back-and-forth with each team trading points before the Golden Lions would take their first lead of the night at 7-5. Two kills from Coachman tied the stanza 9-9. UAPB notched three more unanswered points to regain the lead. The Bulldogs and Golden Lions went point for point until AAMU claimed six of seven points to put itself ahead at 21-20. Two Ramirez terminations and two UAPB errors confirmed the second frame in favor of the Bulldogs, 25-23.
Set Three
The third stanza saw both teams nabbing two points at a time, until the Bulldogs capitalized on three UAPB errors and a service ace to take an early lead at 11-9. The teams traded points again before the Maroon and White scored five unanswered points to regain the leading position at 18-14. The Golden Lions would have a 3-0 run answer, but it proved to be not enough, as Amparo-Smith , Ramirez and Bailey Duckett all tallied a termination a piece to claim the set (25-21), and the match, 3-0.
The Bulldogs will take on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Friday in Daytona Beach. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
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.
