Lady Hornet volleyballers clinch SWAC East Division title
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (bamastatesports.com) – The Alabama State women’s volleyball team clinched their third SWAC East Division regular season title in four years as the Lady Hornets reeled off its’ seventh consecutive victory on Saturday afternoon with a straight sets victory at Alabama A&M by the scores of 25-16, 25-13, 25-15.
It was the Lady Hornets’ 14th sweep this season.
Alabama State (19-8 overall, 16-0 SWAC) ensured that it will be the top seed entering the SWAC Tournament that begins on Friday in Jackson, Miss.
Ni’yesha Brown and Bayle Bennett continued their strong play as each notched 14 kills, setters Justus Tuiolosega and Kori Kutsch split the work evenly with 17 assists apiece and Jamie Coleman shored up the defense with a team-high 14 digs.
“The girls played great,” said ASU head coach Penny Lucas-White.
“They are starting to peak. Ni’yesha [Brown and Bayle [Bennett] were difference makers. However, Kori [Kutsch] served very well. She had some tough serves that kept them out of system. We played solid defense also.”
ASU led just 10-8 in the first set, but then won 12 of the next 13 points to create separation in taking the opening set.
Set two played out in similar fashion with ASU clinging to a 12-10 advantage before turning it to win 15 of the following 18 points to close out the set.
The Lady Hornets sprang out to a 14-4 lead in the third set before trading points the rest of the way to seal the win.
ASU returns home to play Southern on Monday at 7 p.m.
The match will be carried by the SWAC Digital Network.
Then, the regular season concludes with Senior Night on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Alcorn State.
