Lady Braves Fall To ECU In Season Opener

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Alcorn State University women's volleyball program opened the 2018 season Friday night at the Southern Miss Classic with a 3-0 loss to East Carolina. The Classic is being played in USM's Reed Green Coliseum.
 
Sydney Joseph led the Lady Braves (0-1) offensively with six kills, while Jasmine Chambers and Simone Barren added three kills apiece. Barbara Grubisic Cabo and Jurnee Calhoun contributed five assists each, while Chambers was right behind them with four. Cabo also served the team's lone ace.
 
Defensively, Kaylyn Latin reached double-digit digs with 10, Fiapaipai Iosia finished with six, and Chambers chipped in five. Daharri Thompkins picked up a pair of block assists.

"Tonight we started off consistent, but couldn't finish," said head coach Chelsey Lucas. "We have a young group and I believe this was an eye opener for them. They also realize that they have to trust each other to be successful. For our new girls, they showed that they have a lot of fight and the potential to compete at a higher level each game."
 
In the opening set, the Lady Pirates (2-0) created some separation early with four consecutive points to take a 9-4 lead. Kills by Chambers and Joseph and an ECU attack error helped close the gap 9-7, but Alcorn was unable to get any closer. The visitors on the scoreboard claimed the set 25-14 for the early 1-0 match lead.
 
ECU built a 6-1 lead to start set two before the Lady Braves were able to pull to within 6-4. The teams continued to trade points before ECU took off on a 16-1 run to make it 2-0.
 
After a quick back-and-forth to start the final set, the Lady Pirates committed a service error and consecutive attack errors that allowed Alcorn to take a 5-3 advantage. A Syngryd Valadares kill and block made it an 8-6 lead, but ECU took over with runs of 6-0 and 7-0. The Lady Braves were unable to recover as the Lady Pirates won the set 25-12 to secure the match win.
 
The Lady Braves are back in action tomorrow as they face the host Golden Eagles at 11 a.m. Alcorn then concludes the Southern Miss Classic against Spring Hill College at 4:30 p.m.
 
#FearTheBrave