Alcorn Plays Two at TSU Invitational

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Alcorn State Volleyball dropped a pair of tough decisions on Friday, as the Braves fell to North Alabama (L, 3-0) and Belmont (L, 3-1) as part of opening day action at the Tennessee State Invitational being played inside Kean Hall on the campus of Tennessee State University.
 
NORTH ALABAMA 3, ALCORN 0
Mikenzie Young-Mullins registered seven kills and 13 digs on Friday afternoon, as the Braves of Alcorn State dropped the opening match of the Tennessee State Invitational played at Kean Hall. North Alabama claimed the match on scores of 25-9, 25-23, 25-20.
 
After dropping the opening set, Alcorn (1-10) bounced back quickly in the second to take an early 8-4 lead behind three UNA attack errors, as well as kills from Mikenzie Young-Mullins and Faith Archibong, respectfully.
 
With UNA (9-1) serving for set-point at 24-16, the Braves went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit at 24-23.
 
In the run, the Purple and Gold used back-to-back kills from Makayla Wardlaw and errors by UNA attackers. A kill by freshman setter Ramona Pulu, and a pair of blocks at the net by Demya Tate and Wardlaw, allowed the Braves to get right back in the set and serve for a chance to extend to extra-time.
 
An attack error charged to the Purple and Gold ended the set, allowing UNA the 25-23 win, as well as take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
 
North Alabama hit .323 as a team in the third set, while the Braves committed eight attack errors to hit just .156. That allowed UNA to claim the set and match on the strength of a 25-20 win in the finale.
 
Young-Mullins led all Braves with her seven-kill performance, adding a match-high 13 digs in the process. Jeda Curry was just behind her with six kills of her own, while Wardlaw chipped in with five kills for the match. Pulu completed a double-double effort with 19 assists and 11 digs.
 
Taylor Floyd was the top offensive performer for UNA, pacing the team with a match-high 12 kills, adding seven digs, three service aces and three blocks (assisted). Breylee Linder supplied a match-high 31 assists, while teammate Ella Ratzloff had 10 digs to lead her team's defensive efforts.
 
BELMONT 3, ALCORN 1
A nine-kill outing from Makayla Wardlaw was joined by three players with five kills each for Alcorn, as the Braves dropped the second of two matches played on the day for the Purple and Gold, the nightcap being a 3-1 setback to Belmont on opening day action of the Tennessee State Invitational at Kean Hall. Belmont won the match on scores of 25-13, 20-25, 25-16, 25-14.
 
After dropping the opening set, Alcorn (1-11) tied things up with a thrilling 25-20 win in the second.
 
The Braves raced out to an early 6-0 lead off the serve of Demya Tate, using an assisted block from Faith Archibong and Jeda Curry – added a kill from Archibong in the run as well.
 
Belmont (4-9) got consecutive service aces from Laura Shoopman and a kill from teammate Kristen Clemons to eventually take its first lead of the second frame, 9-8.
 
After an attack error charged to the Braves allowed the Bruins to claim a 15-13 lead in the set, Alcorn went on its second 6-0 run of the frame, this time powered off the serve of Curry. Mikenzie Young-Mullins and Archibong combined for a block, while four (4) Bruins attack errors allowed the Braves to reclaim the lead at 19-15.
 
The Purple and Gold went on to collect the second set as the Bruins committed two of their set-high 13 errors in the second, allowing the Braves to knot the match at a set apiece.
 
However, Belmont responded in the third set to hit .276, followed by a .355 clip in the fourth set. Meanwhile, Alcorn was limited to hitting just .120 in the third, as well as a .148 clip as a team in the fourth.
 
Wardlaw finished with a team-high nine kills for the Braves, as she also added two assisted blocks and two digs in the match. Freshman defensive specialist/libero Meagan Alfaro of Miami picked up a team-high 15 digs for the Braves in the match. Ramona Pulu setup 27 assists, while teammate Young-Mullins had six kills and 10 digs. Three Braves had five kills each in the form of Curry, Archibong and Demya Tate.
 
The Bruins were sparked by the play of Shoopman with 12 kills, adding nine digs, five service aces and a pair of blocks (assisted). Brooke Gilleland led the Belmont attack in terms of kills with a match-high 15 to her credit, while Ally Peterson was the third of a trio of Bruins to register double-digit kills in the match, as the outside hitter finished with 11 kills and seven digs. Peyton O'Brien had 34 assists, and Rachel McBride had 19 digs in the winning effort for her team.
 
Alcorn concludes play at this year's Tennessee State Invitational on Saturday when the Braves faceoff against the host Tigers at Kean Hall in a match to be shown live on ESPN+ beginning at 9 a.m. (CT).
 
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