DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. | Alabama State stayed undefeated in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play with a 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-17, 25-15) victory over Bethune-Cookman at historical Moore Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
 
A'Nylah Cobb led Alabama State with 16 kills, while Jylen Whitten added 12 and Daytona Beach native Taila Gaines added 11 in the win. Madison Beasley led Alabama State with 27 assists, while Temperance Chatman added 16 digs.
 
SET 1 | Both teams opened the set with identical 3-0 runs with Alabama State grabbing the first before the Wildcats came back to tie the set up at 3-all. From there, the teams traded points until Alabama State was able to build a four-point lead at 9-5 behind a kill from Cobb and a block from Kymesha Thompson. Bethune-Cookman continued to stay in the set and got to within three before a kill from Christyn Ashby pushed the lead to 15-11, and grew to the biggest of the set at 17-12 on a kill from Whitten. The lead stayed at five when Gaines took a pass from Emily Brooks and finished the kill off before a kill from Cobb pushed the lead to 20-14. The lead grew to seven to 22-15 when Gaines and Ashby combined on a block, and then to 23-15 to force a Bethune-Cookman timeout. After Bethune-Cookman was able to close the gap to six, the Lady Hornets put the opening set away for the early lead.
 
SET 2 | The two teams traded the first four points of the set before a kill from Jada Rhodes and a service ace from Gaines gave Alabama State a 4-2 lead. The two teams traded points until Bethune-Cookman reeled off a pair of service aces to grab a 9-8 lead before Alabama State tied it at 9-all. After the two were tied at 11-all, Bethune-Cookman went on a 5-0 run to grab a 16-11 lead and force an Alabama State timeout. The Lady Hornets answered with a 3-0 run of their own highlighted by a Brooke Adams service ace to trim the deficit to 16-14. The Wildcats were able to build the lead to six before putting the set away to tie the match up.
 
SET 3 | After falling behind early in the set, Alabama State used a 3-0 run highlighted by a kill from Cobb and a service ace from Adams to take a 5-3 lead. After the Wildcats tied the set at 5-all, the two teams traded points before Cobb (two) and Whitten combined for three kills and a 10-7 Alabama State that led to a Wildcats' timeout. The Lady Hornets continued the run to 5-0 to extend the lead to 12-7 after the timeout. The Wildcats went on a 4-0 run to tie the set up at 14-all before Alabama State ended the run to take a 15-14 lead and grew it to 16-14 on a Kaylen Hines block. They extended the lead back to three at 17-14 on a kill by Ashby, and then to 18-14 to force a Bethune-Cookman timeout. The Lady Hornets grew the lead to as many as seven (24-17) before putting the set away to take a 2-1 lead.
 
SET 4 | Bethune-Cookman jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the set before Alabama State used a kill each from Gaines and Cobb, and a pair of aces from Gaines to grab a 5-4 lead. Trailing 8-7 in the set, Alabama State went on a 6-0 run to grab a 13-8 lead and force a Bethune-Cookman timeout. They were able to get kills from three different players and a service ace from Chatman to build the lead. Bethune-Cookman answered with a 3-0 run to trim the deficit to 14-11 before Rhodes added a kill to end the run at 15-12. From that point, Alabama State went on a 3-0 run to extend the lead to 17-12 before forcing a timeout at 19-13. The Lady Hornets continued the pressure out of the timeout, building the lead to eight with a kill from Beasley and a block from Hines. They continued to grow the lead to ten (23-13) before putting the match away.
 
Up Next
Alabama State stays on the road in conference play as they travel to Huntsville (Ala.) on Friday, Sept. 29, to take on Alabama A&M. The match is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside T.M. Elmore Gymnasium.
 
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