Volleyball Prepares for HBCU Challenge

Women's Volleyball | 9/8/2022 7:24:00 PM

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After back-to-back weekends on the east coast, Alcorn State Volleyball travels to Birmingham, Alabama this weekend to participate in the third annual ISTAP HBCU Challenge. Housed at Alabama State University, the event kicks off Friday, Sept. 9, and runs through Saturday, Sept. 10.
 
After facing tough competition in the form of teams from USC Upstate, Georgia Southern, Stetson and Florida Atlantic, the Alcorn State volleyball team now turns its sights upon hard-hitting opponents from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
 
Alcorn opens the event against Delaware State on Friday, Sept. 9, at 10 a.m. The Braves return for the nightcap affair against South Carolina State at 5:30 p.m.
 
When mentioning South Carolina State, Alcorn Head Coach Melissa Robinson is a 2012 graduate of S.C. State. In her time on the Orangeburg, South Carolina campus, Robinson enjoyed a stellar three-year career with the Bulldogs volleyball program, helping the team to the 2010 MEAC Championship. She finished her career with 128 kills, 134 assists and 996 digs – breaking the school single-season record as a senior with 449 digs. She also holds a school record for serving seven (7) aces in a single set. Off the court, Robinson was a member of the SCSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
 
On Saturday, Sept. 10, the Braves wrap-up their stay at this year's ISTAP HBCU Challenge when they meet Coppin State at 12:30 p.m.
 
All matches for the weekend take place inside the Dunn-Oliver Acadome on the campus of Alabama State.
 
Despite a 0-6 record to start the campaign, several key figures have stepped up for the Purple and Gold in the first two in-season tournaments of the season.
 
Junior outside hitter Makayla Wardlaw leads the team in kills (29) and service aces (4), while Demya Tate tops the team in hitting percentage. The setting duties have been fixed upon the shoulders of freshman Ramona Pulu, as she leads the team with 75 assists. Freshman libero Meagan Alfaro of Miami is the leader in digs for the Braves with 45, while Pulu is second in that category with 26.
 
Tate, another highly touted freshman for the Braves from Chandler, Arizona, comes into the weekend leading the team in blocks with 19 (7 solo, 12 assisted). Jodorrian Taylor, a graduate transfer from Virginia State, sits behind Tate in double-figures with 10 blocks (2 solo, 8 assisted) of her own.
 
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