ITTA BENA, Miss.—Alabama State had three players record double-digit kills in defeating Mississippi Valley State 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-22) in an important Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) volleyball game.
 
Chelsey Scott led the way with 12 kills while Rachel Smith had 11 and Amber Bennett added 10.  Bennett had an exceptional night as she hit .769 (10 kills/0 errors/12 total attacks) to lead the ASU offense.  She also had four solo blocks and a block assist.
 
The first and second sets were never that close as the Lady Hornets opened up five-point leads (16-11, and 17-12) in building a quick 2-0 lead.
 
The third set also looked as if ASU would win comfortably, building a 17-11 lead only to see MVSU come back and even the score at 20 and again at 22.  Following an ASU timeout, the Lady Hornets pulled out the set and the game by scoring the final three points in the set.
 
Brooke Beasley had a game-high 33 assists and Luiza Griz set a career-high with 27 digs.  Her previous record was 25 set last season against these same Devilettes.
 
“We played much better tonight than we did against Alcorn last night,” Head Coach Penny Lucas-White said.  “I thought our play was a lot cleaner and it showed as we only committed 10 attack errors for the entire game.”
 
ASU (7-22/3-2 SWAC) won their third consecutive game, which is the second time this season they have accomplished the feat.  MVSU falls to 6-13 overall and 1-4 in SWAC action.
 
“We have to continue to improve on the court in our final three games as the outcomes will determine our seeding in the conference tournament,” Lucas-White said.  “They are not going to be easy games as we face the two teams ahead of us in our division in Jackson State and Alabama A&M.  We have played both teams already before and both were close exciting games going five sets with JSU and four with A&M.”
 
“We know we can play with them, but we need to cut down on errors against those teams because they are too good to make mistakes against.”
 
ASU will finish the regular season with three consecutive home games beginning on Nov. 2 against East Division leading Jackson State University.  The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
-Hornets-