Alcorn Clinches SWAC Tournament Berth with 3-0 Sweep over MVSU on Senior Day

LORMAN, Miss. – Behind a 10-kill effort from Alondra Rivera Modesto on her Senior Day, the Alcorn State University volleyball program locked-up a spot in the SWAC Championships with a 3-0 victory over
Mississippi Valley State on Monday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
The Lady Braves (10-19, 6-12 SWAC) will be the No. 8 seed after Arkansas-Pine Bluff fell to Prairie View A&M.
 
Alcorn's six conference wins are the most since 2003.
 
"I am so proud of this team and the amount of adversity we've battled through this season. To win these last two matches with our backs against the wall and secure our spot in the conference tournament shows how far we this program has come," said Alcorn head coach Chelsey Lucas. "Even with such a young team filled with under-classman, we've grown and matured so much over the course of the season. We will start preparing tomorrow for our postseason journey."
 
The Lady Braves will enter the SWAC Championships on a winning-streak after beating Jackson State 3-2 on Thursday.
 
Modesto was honored after the second set against MVSU (5-27, 2-15 SWAC). The daughter of Syndia Modesto and Edwin Rivera, she was accompanied on the court by senior Singryd Valadares (who is redshirting this year), junior Wanya Morris and sophomore Fiapaipai Iosia.
 
Modesto is on-pace to graduate from Alcorn in May, 2019 with a degree in psychology. She is a two-year letterwinner with the Lady Braves.
 
On the court, Modesto led the Lady Braves with 10 kills against Sophomore Daharri Thompkins and freshman Sydney Joseph put-away nine kills apiece.
 
Junior Barbara Cabo distributed 23 assists, while freshman Jurnee Calhoun had nine. Iosia, who entered the night ranked third in the nation in service aces, registered four aces to go along with 15 digs. Freshman Mariah Wilmoth also reached double-figures with 10 digs.
 
The Delta Devilettes were led by Tyler Caliste's 16 kills.
 
Alcorn hit for a .223 mark in the match and held MVSU to a .073 clip.
 
A lopsided first set saw the Lady Braves jump out to a quick 11-4 lead after kills by Modesto and Joseph. Alcorn won six straight points on Iosia's serve to extend the advantage to 20-8. The set ended on a pair of attack errors by the Delta Devilettes.
 
A wild second set saw Alcorn get off to a fast start again. The Lady Braves started up 5-0 and 10-3 before MVSU mounted a comeback. The Delta Devilettes slowly chipped away and used a pair of 4-0 runs to take an 18-17 lead. MVSU pushed its edge up to 23-21 when the Lady Braves called timeout. After the break, Alcorn answered with a match-changing 4-0 run which included a kill by Joseph and an ace by Cabo on set point.
 
It was nearly dejavu in the third set as Alcorn took a commanding 10-2 lead after a pair of aces by Wilmoth. The Lady Braves were up 11-4 when MVSU responded with a huge 10-0 spurt to go up 14-11. Kills by sophomore Mae Lewis and freshman Simone Barren pulled Alcorn within one at 16-15, and the Lady Braves tied it 18-18 on a spike by sophomore Daharri Thompkins. Still tied 23-23, Alcorn won it on an ace by freshman Jurnee Calhoun and a kill by Lewis.
 
The Lady Braves improved to 46-35 all-time against the Delta Devilettes.
 
Alcorn will open the 2018 SWAC Championships against top-seeded Alabama A&M on Friday, Nov. 16 on the campus of Mississippi Valley State. Start times for the first round have not yet been announced.
 
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