MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Madison Beasley became the fifth member of the 2,000-assist club at Alabama State, leading the Lady Hornets to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-16) victory over Bethune-Cookman in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play at Lockhart Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
Beasley, who finished with 29 assists, recorded her 2,000th career assist in the opening set to lead Alabama State (11-12, 10-0 SWAC) to its tenth straight win. She was joined in double figures assists by
Emily Brooks with 16, while
Temperance Chatman finished with 22 digs and three assists.
Jada Rhodes led the team with 18 kills, while
A'Nylah Cobb and
Christyn Ashby each added nine.
How It Happened
SET 1 | Bethune-Cookman jumped out to an 8-3 lead before Alabama State was able to respond and end the run with a kill from Rhodes. The Wildcats grew the lead to as many as eight before the Lady Hornets closed the gap to 14-10 with an ace from
Temperance Chatman After a pair of Bethune-Cookman points pushed the score to 16-10, Alabama State went on an 8-0 run to take an 18-16 lead – a lead they would not relinquish. During the run, the Lady Hornets used four kills from Ashby to take the lead. The Wildcats were able to get to 22-21 before Alabama State used kills from Rhodes and Cobb, and a block from
Taila Gaines and
Jylen Whitten to close out the set.
SET 2 | The two teams traded the first 22 points of the set until Alabama State broke the 11-all tie with a kill from Rhodes. The Lady Hornets pushed the lead to 14-12 after a service error from B-CU, before the Wildcats tied the set back up at 14-all. The Lady Hornets went on a 3-0 run from the point using kills from Cobb and Gaines, before Gaines teamed up with Cobb for a block forcing Bethune-Cookman to call a timeout at 17-14. The lead stayed at three until Bethune-Cookman pulled to 22-21. The Lady Hornets used a kill from Rhodes and an error from B-CU to take a 24-21 lead, and claimed the set on a kill from Rhodes for a 2-0 overall lead.
SET 3 | Alabama State jumped out to an 11-0 lead to open the final set using kills from Whitten (two), Ashby (three), and Gaines. They also got blocks from Ashby and Gaines in the run to the big lead. Bethune-Cookman was finally able to get on the board with back-to-back points before Gaines pushed the lead back to 10 (12-2) with a kill. The lead grew back to 11 (14-3) on a block from Rhodes and
Kaylen Hines before the Wildcats cut it to 14-4, however, the lady Hornets wouldn't let Bethune-Cookman any closer until Bethune-Cookman went on an 8-1 run to get to within 17-11 and forced an Alabama State timeout. Out of the timeout, Alabama State scored three of the next four points to push the lead to 20-12 before closing out the match.
Up Next
Alabama State returns to action next week at the SWAC Cluster in Daytona Beach (Fla.) against Grambling State on Sunday, Oct. 29. They will also face Alcorn State on Sunday before facing UAPB on Monday, Oct. 30 to close out the Cluster.
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