HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | Alabama State (16-16, 12-4 SWAC) continued their win streak in SWAC Tournament games with a sweep of Grambling State in the quarterfinal round inside of Elmore Gymnasium on Friday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Alabama State dominated the first from start to finish Friday, beginning the opening set with a kill from the combination of McKenzie Boland (Stockbridge, Ga.) and Mahogany Vinson (Richton Park, Ill.) and jumping out to a 10-4 lead to force an early timeout from Grambling.
• The came out of the break with kills from Kalysia Bates (Phenix City, Ala.), Alexis Ratliff (Atlanta, Ga.) and Vinson to make the score 15-10 before holding serve for five straight points, including two aces from Amaya Finley (Stockton, Calif.).
• After a second timeout from the Tigers, Alabama State finished the set with a nine-point win, 25-14.
• After a 3-0 lead early in the second set, turnovers plagued Alabama State afterwards as they found themselves trailing 8-5.
• Still trailing at 14-9, a Finley kill sparked a run to eventually tie the game and take a one-point lead at 18-17.
• With the game tied again at 19-19 the Hornets took the lead for the final time of the set as they took the second 25-22.
• The two teams traded scores in the third in a tight battle, tying six times and having three lead changes in the set.
• With Alabama State trailing, three consecutive kills from Bates tied the score at 8-8 on way to gaining a two score lead moments later.
• The Hornets continued to stretch their lead, closing out a run with a kill from Jada Rhodes (Tallahassee, Fla.) to go up 21-16 to force a Tiger timeout.
• Alabama State finished off the sweep after a final kill from Bates and two aces from Rhodes along with a Grambling error in the 25-16 win.

GAME NOTES

• The win moves them into the semifinal round of the SWAC Tournament and extends the Alabama State conference tournament game win streak to 13 games.
• The Hornets trailed just three times in the match with the largest deficit being five points in the second set.
• Rhodes led Alabama State with a team-high 13 kills, six digs and five aces. Bates finished with 12 kills, four blocks and two aces, while Vinson added eight kills and a block on the afternoon.
• Both Hornet setters had over 15 assists – Boland dished out 20 assists along with four digs and Madison Beasley (Gilbert, Ariz.) who had 18 assists and five digs. Emersen Belles (Gilbert, Ariz.) led defensively with 22 digs along with two assists and an ace.

Up Next
Alabama State will battle top seeded Jackson State in the semifinal round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday at 2 pm. The match will be broadcast on the SWAC Digital Network.

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