MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Junior setter
Kamrynn Clay of the Alabama State University women's volleyball team became the sixth ever Hornet to record 2,000 career assists on Sunday afternoon, but her success and other teammates' efforts fell just short in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats inside Lockhart Gymnasium in a battle between two Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) foes.
The Hornets (6-19, 4-8 SWAC)Â had some great stretches in each set, leading at each of the 15-point technical timeouts while having great opportunities to take over and claim a set within the final points of each frame. The Wildcats (12-10, 8-4 SWAC), who maintain their position among the top teams in the conference, went on long, unanswered scoring stretches to claim its second straight victory over ASU. The first set saw the largest point differential at 25-21, while identical 26-24 sets followed to conclude the match.
Bethune-Cookman opened the set with a 3-0 lead, only for the Hornets to respond with the next three points while proceeding to keep the score tight throughout the first half.
Kaylen Hines and
Lyric Edwards continued to make successful attack attempts down the stretch, helping Bama State to a 20-19 lead as it became crunch time for both teams. A 6-1 run followed by the Wildcats, who utilized four kills in the series to strike first.
BC led out of the gate once again, claiming a 5-1 advantage before Alabama State quickly responded with its own 6-1 run to go up by one. In the midst of the Hornets' scoring spree, Clay's assist to
Alexis Williams – her third assist of the set – put the team within one and got her to the 2,000-set assist threshold. The teams would follow by trading points and going on small runs for a tight middle set, keeping fans on their seats through most of the middle of the set until it was 23-all. The Wildcats responded, answering an
Amaya Robinson kill that made it set point with three points of their own to take the 2-0 advantage.
The opposing team's effort to get ahead a third straight time was stopped by its own errors, giving ASU a 2-0 lead, although more errors tilted the game back to Bethune-Cookman and then back even at 6-6. Neither team could build a sturdy advantage, as both teams were able to bounce back throughout the middle of the third frame. Alabama State put four unanswered points on the board for a promising 20-17 lead that was fueled by a trio of successful Clay-to-Hines attacking efforts. The home squad held on to the brief lead through its 23rd point, but Bethune-Cookman's offense stepped up and went 5-1 the rest of the way for another close victory in the third and final set.
Clay's accomplishment was paired with a 33-assist, 13-dig double-double, her eighth such game this season and second in the past three outings. Robinson led the team with 11 kills, while Hines followed closely behind with ten kills and a pair of blocks.
The career accomplishment puts the junior setter in the company of Hornet setters such as Ana Pego (2010-11), Brooke Beasley (2012-14), Kori Kutsch (2015-18), and current assistant women's volleyball coach
Madison Beasley (2019-23). She is the second fastest Alabama State student-athlete to reach the threshold, sitting behind program-leader Meredith Michel (1993-96).
As a team, the competition was much closer than the scoreboard suggests. The Hornets led the way in points (53-52), kills (41-37) and sets (38-35), while sitting close behind in aces (6-5, BC), digs (44-40, BC) and blocks (9-7, BC). ASU's first-set attack efficiency was five percent higher than the Wildcats, making it another competitive contest on the season.
The Lady Hornets look to respond in a pair of road matches in Mississippi, starting against Mississippi Valley State on Friday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. and followed by Jackson State the following Sunday, Nov. 8 at noon.
