JACKSON, Miss.—Alabama State University has arrived in Jackson and is ready for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) volleyball tournament.  The Lady Hornets are the third seed from the East Division and will face Texas Southern, the second seed from the West Division, at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 17.
 
ASU (7-25) and Texas Southern (14-13) have faced each other once earlier in the season at the Southern University Volleyball Invitation Tournament.  The Lady Hornets defeated Texas Southern 3-1 (26-24, 25-17, 14-25, 25-22).
 
“We had the opportunity to play Texas Southern earlier in the season so both teams know each other,” Head Coach Penny Lucas-White said.  “They are a very good team, losing only twice in the conference and we will have to be at the top of our game to pull out the opening game win.”
 
The Lady Hornets are led by junior captain and First Team All-SWAC honoree Luiza Griz.  The libero led the SWAC in digs with 341 and was fourth in the conference at 3.16 per set.
 
Setter Brooke Beasley led the SWAC in assists during conference games at over 10 per set.  She was the only player to average over 10 assists per set and for her efforts was named the Newcomer of the Year.
 
Chelsey Scott led the Lady Hornets with 269 kills and Myla Marshall had a hitting percentage of .227 and in blocks with 68.  Both players were named Second Team All-SWAC.
 
ASU only had two players back from last season and spent most of the season counting on first year players to lead them through the season.  That lack of experience showed itself during the season.
 
The Lady Hornets enter the tournament losing their last three games, while Texas Southern is the hottest team on the West Division as they have won nine of their last 12 games.
 
“The season did not go the way we planned,” Lucas-White said.  “We knew the youth would be a problem, but we expected to win several more games than we did.  We had plenty of opportunities to win eight to 10 more games and we could not close them out.  We no longer use our youth as a reason why we did not close out some of those close games.”
 
“Texas Southern is a very good team as evidenced by the way they ended their season,” Lucas-White said.  “The way they were able to finish the season is exactly how we wanted to end our season.  TSU has a lot of momentum coming into the tournament and we are looking to find a way to play winning volleyball again.  This tournament gives us another chance to end our season on a positive note with some wins and hopefully a tournament championship.”