MONTGOMERY—The 2012 season did not start exactly how the Alabama State University (0-2) volleyball team wanted it to as they dropped their first two games of the ISTAP Collegiate Cup.
 
In the final game of day one, the Lady Hornets fell to Tennessee State (1-1) 3-0 as the young Lady Hornets played too inconsistent to compete with the more seasoned Lady Tigers.
 
TSU won game one 25-15, and in game two the Lady Hornets actually led 6-4 before their youth and inexperience began to show.  TSU went on a 15-4 run to build a 19-10 lead before cruising in for the 25-16 win.  TSU finished the match with a 25-14 win in game three for the straight game win.
 
Naomi Watts had 14 kills and Sherryce Butler had 12 as the Lady Tigers ended the match hitting .413.  Erika Moss had 32 assists.
 
Chelsey Scott had eight kills and Rachel Smith added seven for ASU.  Brooke Beasley had 24 assists and Smith also chipped in with eight digs.
 
The Lady Hornets started five freshmen and a sophomore and their libero was a junior so the youth of the team showed during their first day of matches, but they also showed some glimpses of the talent they have.
 
“I think my kids are starting to understand the up tempo of division I volleyball,” head coach Penny Lucas-White said.  “They see how fast the game is, they have to catch up to the game, but I am more pleased with how they competed in the second game verses earlier today.”
 
“Tennessee State is a very well seasoned team and we are going to have to learn how to endure in staying in one ball in one point at one time.  We showed a lot of signs of our youth, but even in showing their youth they showed signs of greatness and it really doesn't matter because that is what preseason is all about.  We make our mistakes, we make our adjustments so we will come back and make quite a few adjustments and I think you will see a better Alabama State team.”
 
ASU dropped a 3-1 decision to Southeastern Louisiana (1-1) in their opening match of the 2012 season.  After winning the first game 27-25, the Lady Hornets had a 25-24 lead in game two with the serve, but the Lady Lions scored three consecutive points for the 27-25 win.
 
The fourth game was much the same with the two teams battling back and forth before SELU pulled out a late 25-20 win.  The fourth game was the same way as the two teams were even from 18 all the way through 22 and then SELU scored the final three points of the game to win the match.
 
Courtney Donald did a lot of the damage for SELU with 23 kills while Becky Bekelja had 48 assists and Megan McMillin had 22 digs.
 
Rachel Smith was the main offensive weapon for ASU finishing with 13 kills.  Brooke Beasley had 36 assists and Luiza Griz had 19 digs.
 
Other Matches on Day One:
 
The fifth match of the day saw Jacksonville State (2-0) defeat Southeastern Louisiana 3-0.  Kelsey Anderson led the way with 12 kills and Abbey Heredia had 35 assists.  Kelly Cole and Anderson both reached double digits in digs with 15 and 11.
 
Veronica Turk had 11 kills for Southeastern Louisiana and Bekelja had 29 assists.
 
South Dakota (2-0) stayed unbeaten with a 3-0 win over Stetson (0-2) in the day's fourth match.  Amber Aschoff and Kim Bulaga led the Coyotes offensive efforts with 14 and 12 kills.  Tori Kroll was solid as a shot maker with 33 assists and she also added a team-high 10 digs.
 
Ellen Hawks led Stetson with five kills while Kelli Carneal had 12 assists and Monique Russell added 11 digs.
 
In the second match of the day, South Dakota defeated Tennessee State University 3-1 in a match that was closer than the score indicated.  USD won the first game 25-19 with the Lady Tigers coming back and taking game two 25-21.  USD was able to win games three and four 25-21 and 25-15 to complete the win.
 
Kendall Kritenbrink led the way with 18 kills and three service aces for the Coyotes and Kroll had 37 digs.  The taller Coyotes showed their height difference with 14 total blocks.
 
Naomi Wells had 14 kills for the Lady Tigers and Erika Moss had 27 assists and 12 digs.
 
The first match of the day set the tone for close games as Stetson and Jacksonville State battled into a fifth and deciding set before the Lady Gamecocks pulled out the 3-2 win.  Stetson won the first game 25-21 before JSU came back and won the next two games 25-13 and 25-15.  JSU had a 26-25 lead in the fourth game with the serve, only to see the Lady Hatters score three consecutive points to send the match to the fifth game.
 
It was there JSU pulled out a thrilling 15-13 win.  Jen Meyer led JSU with 19 kills and Kelsey Anderson added 13.  Heredia had 50 assists.
 
The ISTAP Collegiate Cup continues tomorrow with the first action again beginning at 9 a.m.  South Dakota and Jacksonville State the lone unbeaten teams in the Cup will play in the day's first action.
 
ASU will face Stetson at 1 p.m. and will end the Cup with a 7 p.m. match against Jacksonville State.