LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University volleyball program will spend the weekend playing five matches at the Jackson Convention Center as it competes in the SWAC Round-Up hosted by JSU.
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The Lady Braves (4-15, 2-7 SWAC) has gotten elite setter play from junior
Jasmine Chambers this season, as she's won three SWAC Setter of the Week Awards while ranking second in the conference with 6.03 assists per set.
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Chambers has racked up 380 assists on the campaign, leads the club with 16 service aces and is second on the club with 121 digs.
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Despite missing the past five games, junior
Fiapaipai Iosia still places inside the top-five of the conference in digs per set (3.73) and has racked up 183 digs in 49 sets played.
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The sophomore duo of
Simone Barren and
Sydney Joseph pace the Lady Braves with 40 blocks and 126 kills, respectively.
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"I'm looking forward to the team working hard through every match," said head coach
Melissa Robinson. "This past week we've been focusing on our team dynamic and I'm looking forward to how we will showcase our strides at this tournament."
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Scouting the Texas Southern Tigers (Friday, October 25 at 3 p.m.)
TSU is 6-12, 5-4 in conference with its lone non-conference win coming against South Carolina State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge.
The Tigers are in the upper-half of the SWAC for aces per set (1.28), assists per set (9.88), digs per set (13.84), kills per set (10.83) and opponents hitting percentage (.213).
Alexis Austin is among the ten-best in the conference in terms of kills per set (2.31), aces per set (0.30) and points per set (2.74).
Breyanna York and Atira Jells are the only Texas Southern players in the top-five in their respective categories as York is fourth in assists per set (5.90) and Jells is second in aces per set (0.33).
Texas Southern leads Alcorn 15-10 in the all-time series after defeating the Lady Braves in four sets earlier this season.
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Scouting the Southern Jaguars (Friday, October 25 at 7 p.m.)
Southern has been playing excellent during the SWAC portion of its slate, going 7-2 in the league while struggling to an 0-12 mark in non-conference.
The light blue and gold are one of the SWAC's elite teams regarding blocks per set (1.73) and opponents hitting percentage (.200).
Arabella Hall is the lone Jaguar to land on two SWAC leaderboards as she comes in at sixth for hitting percentage (.233) and fourth for blocks per set (0.80).
Princess Stark and Mohammed Sameera join Hall among the SWAC's leaders as they are top-three in assists per set (5.97) and digs per set (3.17), respectively.
Southern leads Alcorn 39-22 in the all-time series after defeating the Lady Braves in straight sets last month.
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Scouting the Prairie View A&M Panthers (Saturday, October 26 at 10 a.m.)
PVAMU has been the class of the conference so far through nine matches as they've compiled an 8-1 record with its only defeat coming at the hands of Jackson State.
The Panthers are getting some national recognition as they are top-25 in the NCAA for assists (1036), digs (1353), kills (1122) and service aces (135) while topping the SWAC in all of those categories.
Skyla Childs has been the defensive of this Prairie View squad, tallying a national top-20 dig total (403) while placing second in the SWAC with 4.29 digs per set.
Victoria Pearson ranks third in the SWAC for points per set (3.24), kills (262) and hitting percentage (.304) to go along with a top-five placement in kills per set (2.74).
Prairie View leads Alcorn 27-9 in the all-time series after sweeping the Lady Braves at the previous SWAC Round-Up on their home floor.
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Scouting the Grambling State Tigers (Saturday, October 26 at 3 p.m.)
Grambling is 8-16 on the year with two conference wins. All six of its non-conference triumphs have come against non-Division I opposition.
GSU is the SWAC's top blocking unit, leading the league in both blocks per set (2.11) and total blocks (158.5) while limiting the opponent's quality hitting percentage as its ranks fourth by allowing a .209 percentage.
Linzy Woods might only be 5-foot 9-inches but she is a wall at the net for the Tigers, pacing the conference with 0.96 blocks per set and 72 total on the year.
The black and gold have three separate players among the SWAC blocks per set leaders as Tamria Johnson (0.78) and Chasity Nicks (0.66) joins Woods inside the top-ten.
Freshman outside hitter Gillian Jones is one of only 12 girls in the NCAA to record a triple-double this season, putting together a stat line of 32 assists, 18 digs and 10 kills in a victory over Centenary (La.) on Tuesday.
Grambling State leads Alcorn 54-24 in the all-time series after defeating the Lady Braves in a five-set thriller earlier this season.
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Scouting the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (Sunday, October 27 at 12:30 p.m.)
UAPB comes into the tournament at 5-18 and 3-6 in the SWAC with its two non-conference wins coming at the hands of Fisk University.
The Golden Lions thrive at the service stripe, topping the league with 1.54 aces per set and a top-40 ranking nationally in total aces (135).
Three Pine Bluff players fall on the SWAC service ace per set leaderboard as Bri-Anna Armstrong (0.31), Elyssa Kennedy (0.29) and Zyaire Garrit (0.29) have all been deadly.
Armstrong is also top-10 in hitting percentage (.226), blocks per set (0.64) and points (2.77).
Haley Gomez has been a strong defensive presence on the Golden Lions frontline, placing second in the SWAC for blocks per set (0.94) and total blocks (70).
Alcorn leads Arkansas-Pine Bluff 27-13 in the all-time series after the Lady Braves secured one of its two conference victories over the Golden Lions in the SWAC Round-Up at the end of September.
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