PINE BLUFF, Ark. – The Alabama State University women's volleyball team picked up its fourth straight victory on Friday night, defeating the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions, 3-1, inside H. O. Clemmons Arena.
The Lady Hornets (6-16, 4-5 SWAC) did everything to earn its first road victory of the season, making quick work of rallies, nearly doubling up its opponent in ace serves while once again successfully attacking at a high rate against the Golden Lions (3-19, 0-8 SWAC), who have now lost its last seven against the Black and Gold and fall to 1-19 against ASU since 2013.
Outside hitter
Mikalah Davis continued her success from the team's last game in a strong start for the Hornets, recording a pair of kills and serving five straight points to help the visitors to an early 9-4 advantage. Bama State wouldn't trail from there on out, as multiple kills from Davis and
Kaylen Hines quickly earned ASU a 25-21 win.
Another strong start saw opposing attack errors drum up a quick 15-5 advantage, as libero
Mirra Riddle led the charge with a pair of aces from the service line. Once again, the Hornet defense snuffed out any real counter attempts from the Golden Lions, and a mixture of Hines kills and opposing errors sealed a 25-18 score to give ASU a two-set advantage.
With UAPB's backs already against the wall, Alabama State raced out to an 18-9 lead with successful attack series by Hines and
Amaya Robinson, but unlike the prior sets, the Golden Lions stormed back with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to two, and followed a tight stretch with a 6-0 run to take the lead before back-to-back kills allowed them to get a 25-23 edge and force a fourth set.
While much closer than the beginning of the first three sets, the Hornets controlled the pace of play and forced its opponents into blunders that gave ASU the upper hand. Near the middle of the set and down by one, the Hornets went on an 11-1 stretch to create a nine-point lead, and it withstood a late push from UAPB to shut the door with a 25-19 win.
Hines (13) and
Taylor Williams (10) landed double-digit kills for the second straight game, with the latter leading the way in total digs (19) after a similar outing in the 3-1 win over Alabama A&M. Similarly,
Kamrynn Clay had another
Kamrynn Clay-type outing, posting 45 errorless assists while adding eight digs, three aces and a pair of kills in one of her best all-around performances of the year. Riddle notched 18 digs and a quartet of service aces, while
Alexis Williams led the way with three total blocks in the win.
As a team, ASU held a 54-48 edge in kills, along with advantages in aces (10-6), assists (53-47) and digs (74-71). It dominated the attack rate column in each of its wins, and held a seven-point advantage over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in overall kill rate.
The Lady Hornets look to continue its scorching hot run as it travels south to Louisiana on Sunday, Oct. 25, for a meeting with the Grambling State Tigers at noon inside the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston. It returns home for a two-game homestand, starting with Florida A&M on October 30th, followed by a November 1 encounter with Bethune-Cookman, both inside Lockhart Gymnasium.
