MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Freshman
Barbara Garrett combined for a team-high 24 kills during the Lady Braves final three matches, two Monday at Alabama A&M University and one Tuesday at Alabama State University, to conclude the 2016 volleyball season.
Lady Braves (2-25, 1-16 SWAC) junior
Heather Jackson contributed 20 kills. Fellow juniors
Brittney Dumas and
Dnada Smith added 14 and 11 kills respectively.
Alcorn held a 21-16 service aces advantage between the three matches, spearheaded by seniors
Sydney Mellom (6),
Carol Kiam-Assato (5) and Smith (4) and Garrett (3).
AAMU 3, Alcorn 1
Garrett (14) and Dumas (11) each recorded double-digit kills in a four-set loss to the Lady Bulldogs Monday afternoon at Elmore Gym.
Lady Bulldogs (12-21, 11-7 SWAC) top attacker Ashundria McNeal accumulated a match-high 25 kills while Jaelin Gant (12) and Terra Brooks (11) also delivered 10-plus kills.
A kill from senior setter
Leticia Gonzales brought the Lady Braves within two at 10-8 in the opening frame before AAMU scored five straight to push the lead to seven. Alcorn was only outscored 10-9 the rest of the way but fell 25-17 in the opening set.
The second set was quite entertaining, featuring 19 ties and nine lead changes. At a 34-point standstill, Garrett served an ace and junior
Nyasha Terry smashed a kill to give the Lady Braves a 36-34 second-set victory.
Alcorn went down 9-0 in the third plagued by five attacking errors. The Lady Braves scored 10 points in the set on five kills and five Lady Bulldog errors.
Dumas, Garrett and Jackson combined for all 13 kills in the deciding set. Dumas and Garrett had five each while Jackson fired three.
Â
After another Garrett ace put Alcorn within two at 15-13, AAMU pulled away by scoring five straight including solo blocks for the first three which made the score 21-13. The Lady Braves were unable to mount a comeback despite outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 9-4 the rest of the way.
Kiam-Assato totaled four service aces while Garrett added three. The senior libero from Sao Paulo, Brazil, also posted 13 digs.
AAMU 3, Alcorn 0
Alcorn held an 8-5 advantage in service aces despite falling 25-14, 25-14, 25-20 in its second match of the day against AAMU.
Smith tied a season-high with six kills and set a new personal best with three service aces. Garrett and Jackson also notched six kills each.
The Lady Braves earned 24 kills but also made 23 errors for a .010 attacking percentage. The Lady Bulldogs offense was again led by McNeal who had 13 kills which contributed to AAMU's .352 team attacking percentage. McNeal added 11 digs for a double-double.
Alcorn went down 4-1 in the opening set and kept the deficit to three at 10-7 before a 3-0 Lady Bulldogs run made it 13-8. The turning point was at 15-11 after a Dumas kill when AAMU scored eight straight to pull away and eventually take the opening frame 25-14.
The second set was also within three for the Lady Braves after Gonzales got a kill to make it 11-8. Alcorn again allowed eight straight points resulting in a similar 25-14 Lady Bulldogs triumph.
The Lady Braves were able to keep the deciding stanza competitive largely in part to Smith's five kills. Despite falling in a 21-13 hole, Alcorn outscored AAMU 7-4 the rest of the way.
ASU 3, Alcorn 0
The top-ranked Lady Hornets downed the Lady Braves 25-12, 25-7, 26-24 Tuesday night at Lockhart Gym.
Jackson led Alcorn offensively with six kills. Senior
Sydney Mellom provided three aces.
Alcorn was only down 10-8 in the first set before a 15-4 ASU (21-8, 16-0 SWAC) run allowed the Lady Hornets to take a 1-0 lead.
The Lady Braves only mustered seven points in the second set on three kills and six attacking errors. ASU duo Briana Dorsey and Krysta Medearis slammed four kills each as the Lady Hornets went up two sets to none.
Alcorn got three kills each from Jackson and freshman
Wanya Morris in a close 26-24 third set that boasted 11 ties and seven lead changes. Dorsey fired one of her match-high 16 kills during the 24-point tie before a Lady Braves attacking error ended the match.
#FearTheBrave
Â
