HOUSTON - The Alcorn State University volleyball squad will play in a road Southwestern Athletic Conference match Friday against Texas Southern. First serve at the HPE Arena is set for 6:30 p.m.
The Lady Braves (2-13, 1-5 SWAC) split their matches this past weekend. sweeping Mississippi Valley State before falling in straight sets to Jackson State.Â
Those two matches, however, marked the first time that Alcorn recorded a positive attacking percentage in back-to-back SWAC contests this season.Â
Senior setter Sydney Mellom secured her first double-double to lift the Lady Braves over the Lady Devilettes. Mellom tallied 14 assists and 10 digs.
Fellow senior Carol Kiam-Assato anchored the defense with 19 digs while junior Brittney Dumas spearheaded the offense with a team-high nine kills.
Mellom and Kiam-Assato have also performed well on serve, currently placing second and third, respectively, in the SWAC in aces per set.
Juniors Lurlethia Jones (8), Heather Jackson (7), Dumas (7) and Dnada Smith (5) all contributed to the balanced offensive effort that came up short versus Jackson State.Â
The Lady Braves are tasked with handling a TSU Lady Tigers (10-9, 6-1 SWAC) unit that leads the SWAC in hitting percentage and blocks per set and ranks second in assists and kills per set and opponent hitting percentage.Â
TSU features a pair of Preseason All-SWAC first teamers in middle blocker Kali Fluke and outside hitter Audriana Carson. Fluke ranks second among the SWAC in points per set (3.7), kills per set (2.9) and hitting percentage (.327).Â
Alcorn will then head to San Antonio to face Prairie View in a 3 p.m. tilt Saturday. The Lady Panthers (5-12, 4-3 SWAC) have picked up SWAC victories over Alabama A&M, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State.Â
Prairie View freshman Larissa Martinez has been a force for the Lady Panthers, recording the second-most kills per set (2.3) among SWAC freshman.
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