LORMAN, Miss. - The Alcorn State University volleyball program overcame a slow start and grinded out a second set win, but Jacksonville State ultimately prevailed 3-1 Tuesday afternoon at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
Junior Singryd Valadares recorded six kills to lead the Lady Braves on offense, followed closely by freshmen Fiapaipai Iosia and Ashley Samuel with five kills each. Freshmen Jasmine Chambers and Brittney Dumas contributed 13 and 11 assists respectively. Senior Lurlethia Jones and freshman Octavia Dixon both scored a pair of aces.
"That was big for us," said head coach Chelsey Lucas. "With Lurlethia coming in and giving us offense on a serve, that helped us. Octavia is coming in as an outside hitter, but we're converting her into a defensive specialist because she's very smart and can put the ball into play."
On defense, freshman Kaylyn Latin finished with 15 digs and Iosia followed with 10. Freshman Daharri Thompkins set a season high with five blocks and Valadares added a pair.
JSU (5-3) controlled the opening set, scoring eight unanswered to pull ahead 14-2 and closed with five straight points to take a 1-0 lead.
In set two, Alcorn (0-9) trailed 7-4 before back-to-back aces by Jones highlighted a 5-0 run, allowing the Lady Braves to take control 11-8. After the Gamecocks knotted the set at 20-20 and again at 21-21, Alcorn outscored the visitors 4-1 to even the match at 1-1.
"That second set did something for our whole season," noted Lucas. "It made our girls realize that, as a young team, their inexperience doesn't define their ability. When they realized that we needed to step it up, they came through. Although we started out flat, we came back in the second game and executed the small things."
Alcorn kept it close early in the third, but JSU slowly pulled away to win 25-17. In the final set, the Lady Braves trailed 6-1 but were able to cut the visitor lead to 10-9. That would be the closest the team would get, though, as the Gamecocks pulled away 19-12 and held on for the victory.
The Lady Braves travel to Jacksonville, Ala. this Friday and Saturday as the Gamecocks host the Jefferson's & State Farm Invitational at Pete Mathews Coliseum. The team opens the invitational Friday at 2 p.m. against UL-Monroe, followed by a 7 p.m. match against the hosts. Saturday sees Alcorn in action against North Carolina A&T at 2 p.m.
#FearTheBrave
Â
