Lady Braves Go 3-2 at SWAC Round-Up

BATON ROUGE, La. – A successful opening conference weekend resulted in three wins and two losses for the Alcorn State University volleyball program at the first SWAC Round-Up, hosted by Southern University.
 
Alcorn (5-9, 3-2 SWAC) posted wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff 3-0, Grambling 3-0 and Southern 3-2. The Lady Braves fell to Prairie View A&M 3-0 and Texas Southern 3-1.
 
The 3-2 conference record is Alcorn's best start since 2004.
 
"I am proud of the team. To walk out of here with a winning record shows how far we've come. Even our two losses were competitive and we had our opportunities," said Alcorn head coach Chelsey Lucas. "Though still, we are not content by any means and we have to stay focused as we have four more conference matches up next on our schedule."
 
On the weekend, freshman Sydney Joseph slammed a team-high 62 kills and hit for a .303 mark. Senior Alondra Rivera Modesto spiked 56 kills to go along with 13 blocks. Freshman Simone Barren posted a .391 hitting percentage with 22 kills.
 
Junior Barbara Grubisic Cabo did the majority of the setting and distributed 129 assists for a 7.17 per set average. Sophomore Fiapaipai Iosia, who entered the weekend top-five in the nation in aces, will improve her average after recording 19 aces in 18 sets. She also led the team with 70 digs over the five matches.
 
Match 1: Alcorn 3, UAPB 0
The Lady Braves started the weekend on a high-note by sweeping UAPB 25-12, 25-20, 25-20. Three Lady Braves notched double-digit kills including Rivera Modesto who hit for an astounding .800 percentage with 16 kills. Joseph and sophomore Mae Lewis tallied 10 kills apiece.
 
Alcorn won the first seven points of the match to take control early on Cabo's serve. A kill by Rivera Modesto put Alcorn up 19-9 and the Golden Lions could never come within 10 points again. Rivera Modesto notched seven kills on eight attacks in the set.
 
The second set started even with the teams deadlocked at 10-10. With Cabo serving again, Rivera Modesto put away a pair of kills to spark a 4-0 run to give the Lady Braves a 14-10 lead. UAPB cut the deficit to one a couple times at 18-17 and 19-18, but Alcorn did not surrender the lead. An ace by Iosia ended the set.
 
Iosia's serving highlighted the third set with four aces. Three of them came consecutively early-on, and the last came at a crucial moment to put Alcorn up 20-18. The match ended on a solo block by Rivera Modesto.
 
Match 2: Prairie View A&M 3, Alcorn 0
Three closely contested sets just didn't go Alcorn's way as the Panthers ended on top 25-21, 25-22 and 28-26.
 
Barren led the Alcorn offense with seven kills and a .375 hitting percentage. Joseph also stood out with six kills and a .385 hitting mark. Iosia dug up 13 attacks.
 
Alcorn fell in a hole early as PVAMU jumped out to a quick 8-1 lead. The Panthers extended their edge to 18-10 when the Lady Braves began to slowly chip away. Alcorn was down 22-15 when it made a late push on the serve of sophomore Jasmine Chambers and rallied to within 22-19. An attack error by the Panthers made it 23-21, but PVAMU was able to pull out the next two points to grab the set.
 
The second set was tied 10-10 when Alcorn went on a 4-0 spurt which included a kill by Rivera Modesto, forcing PVAMU to call timeout down 14-10. The Lady Braves extended their lead to 17-11 on an ace by sophomore Brianna Davies. Though, PVAMU responded with a big 7-0 run to go up 18-17, and a block gave the Panthers a 22-20 lead which they didn't let up.
 
An intense third set saw neither team lead by more than two as PVAMU led 19-18. Alcorn then went on a 4-0 run, capped by a kill by Cabo to go up 22-20. Though, the Panthers took the next three points to jump back ahead 23-22. Alcorn had one set point at 26-25, but PVAMU answered with two kills in the next three points to take the match.
 
Match 3: Texas Southern 3, Alcorn 1
Another tight match just didn't end how Alcorn had hoped as the Tigers finished on top 25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24.
 
Rivera Modesto shined with 15 kills and three blocks, and Joseph also reached double-figures with 10 kills. Cabo neared a double-double with 27 assists and seven digs.
 
A streaky first set saw the Tigers jump way ahead 19-10 after a 9-1 run. Though, the Lady Braves fought all the way back to cut the deficit to 22-20 after a kill by Joseph, and then they tied it 23-23 after a kill by Barren. However, TSU was able to win the next two points after an attack error and a kill to win the set.
 
The second set was neck-and-neck the entire way with the teams tied 22-22. Though, like the first set, the Tigers were able to win the critical points at the end after a pair of Alcorn errors to grab a 2-0 set advantage.
 
The Lady Braves got off to a great start in the third as they led 7-0 on Cabo's serve and 9-1 after a kill by Rivera Modesto. An ace by Iosia kept them ahead 16-6. TSU came as close as 23-18, but the Lady Braves finished it off with a kill by sophomore Daharri Thompkins.
 
Another intense set came in the fourth as Alcorn led 22-20 after an ace by junior Melinda Perrilloux. A kill by Perrilloux gave the Lady Braves a set point at 24-23, but the TSU was able to snatch the next three points after a pair of blocks to end it.
 
Match 4: Alcorn 3, Grambling 0
The Lady Braves came up clutch in the key moments to earn a 25-23, 25-22, 27-25 result over the Tigers.
 
Alcorn hit .257 as a team, including a .375 percentage by Joseph as she put away 12 kills. Cabo dished out 23 assists, and Iosia registered nine digs, three assists and three aces.
 
The Lady Braves grabbed a 17-14 edge in the middle of the first set after an ace by Perrilloux. Though, the Tigers were able to even it 20-20 after an ace, and grab a 23-21 lead on a kill. With the set potentially going in the wrong direction, Alcorn turned it around with a kill by Joseph and back-to-back aces to go back up 24-23. The Lady Braves won the set on a block-assist by Joseph and Thompkins.
 
The second set was tied 16-16 when Alcorn won the next two points on a hitting error and an ace by Iosia. A kill by Thompkins gave slight separation at 20-17, and a kill by Joseph extended it to 22-18. The Tigers came as close as 23-22, but a kill by Cabo and an ace by Joseph secured the set.
 
The third set was tied nearly the whole way, as a kill by Perrilloux made it 19-19. An Alcorn attack error kept it even at 23-23. GSU had a set point at 25-24, but a kill by Joseph changed it to 25-25. Rivera Modesto followed with a kill to give the Lady Braves a match point, and a kill by Perrilloux sealed it 27-25.
 
Match 5: Alcorn 3, Southern 2
Alcorn entered the match with a 2-2 SWAC record heading into the final day Sunday and had its hopes on closing out the weekend with a winning record. The Lady Braves scratched and clawed to win the final two sets and the match 17-25, 29-27, 27-29, 25-23, 15-9.
 
A career-high 24 kills by Joseph headlined the offense. Lewis and Rivera Modesto recorded 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Lewis was one dig away from a double-double with nine.
 
Cabo shined with a monster double-double with career-highs of 53 assists and 21 digs. Iosia nearly had a double-double with 24 digs, nine assists and four aces.
 
Alcorn got off to a slow start as a big run midway through the first set gave the Jags a 20-14 edge. The Lady Braves had trouble getting it going in the opening frame, and SU won it on an attack error.
 
The score was tied 9-9 in the second when Alcorn went on a 5-1 spurt, capped by a kill by Joseph to force a Jags timeout at 14-10. SU made the most of its timeout and came back to tied it 16-16 after a block. Still tied 23-23, the Jags had a set point after an Alcorn attack error, but a kill by Joseph kept it even 25-25. At 27-27, SU committed a service error, and the Lady Braves closed it out with a kill by Lewis.
 
Another even set saw the Jags lead 23-21 in the third when they committed consecutive errors to knot it at 23. The teams exchanged side-outs the rest of the way until a bad-set was called on Alcorn at 28-27 to end the frame. The Lady Braves had one set point at 26-25 but SU responded with a kill.
 
With their backs against the walls and down 2-1 in sets, the Lady Braves needed to make a comeback after trailing 14-10 in the fourth. Still behind 22-18, Alcorn made a late surge on the serve of Lewis to win five straight points including three kills by Joseph to leap ahead 24-22. After SU won the next point, another kill by Joseph ended the frame and took the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
Alcorn took full control of the final frame early. After winning the first three points, the Lady Braves went ahead 7-1 after a spike by Joseph. A kill by Lewis kept them in front 10-5. SU could only come as close as 12-8 when Joseph answered with a kill to lead 13-8. The match ended on another kill by Joseph, assisted by Cabo.
 
Up Next
The Lady Braves will have the week off from competition as they return home next Sunday at 5 p.m. against Alabama A&M. Alcorn will play matches in back-to-back days as it also hosts Alabama State next Monday at 6 p.m.

Sunday's game will be played in the Davey L. Whitney Complex and will be live streamed for free on the Alcorn Youtube Channel. Monday's game will be played in E.E. Simmons Gym and will not be streamed to due Homecoming festivities.

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