MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama State University women's volleyball team welcomed three teams into the Joe L. Reed Dunn-Oliver Acadome for its home ISTAP Collegiate Cup Tournament on Friday, as it topped the South Carolina State Bulldogs before falling to the Miami University RedHawks to bookend the four-game first day of the two-day competition.
The Hornets (1-8) opened the day by collecting its first win of the season in a strong, four-set triumph over the Bulldogs (2-7) before returning to the court nearly seven hours later for the nightcap of the tournament, where it fell in straight sets to the RedHawks (7-1) of the Mid-American Conference.
Match 1: Hornets 3, Bulldogs 1
The opening set began with first-year Hornet
Denver Watkins leading an early push by the home team, hammering down a trio of kills and contributing on a block to lead ASU to an advantage in the early going.
South Carolina State managed to pull ahead by a small margin, but ASU responded by taking advantage of five Bulldog errors on a run of six consecutive points to go up 15-12. After regrouping following a media timeout, SC State managed to control 11 of the next 13 points, including a run of eight straight for a 22-17 advantage. The Hornets were able to reset and pull even at 23-all before the Bulldogs pulled away to claim the last pair of points.
The second set was much closer and turned into a thriller beyond the 25th point. Both teams stayed within no more than six points of each other the entire frame, and while South Carolina State took command in the middle and held the advantage close to the end, ASU made a seven-point run behind a
Mikalah Davis serve run to take a 24-23 lead. The Bulldogs rallied and began a back-and-forth until
Mirra Riddle aced a serve to go up 29-28, and a
Kaylen Hines kill evened the match at one set apiece.
The Hornets carried the momentum into the third set, storming out to an 11-4 lead and continuing to pad its advantage through the end, with Davis continuing  a stellar showing with seven total kills, the final three resulting in the 23rd, 24th and 25th points of the set in the 25-15 win.
With a one-set advantage, the Lady Hornets continued its winning ways for a short while, only for the Bulldogs to fight back with a 6-for-7 stretch to go up by a pair. The teams exchanged one-, two- and three-point blows for the next dozen points. As it came to the final few points and the set tied at 23 for the third time in the four-set contest, back-to-back ASU kills sealed the deal as the home squad picked up a 3-1 victory.
Davis and Hines led the attacking efforts with 13 kills each, the latter of whom was successful on 33 percent of her attacks. Reigning SWAC Setter of the Week
Kamrynn Clay had a double-double with 42 assists and 13 digs, while she was joined by Riddle and
Taylor Williams with double-digit digs on the morning. Riddle and newcomer
Julia Slaughter each had a trio of assists, as the tandem led the team to an 8-7 advantage in aces over SCST. The Hornets also led as a team in kills (51-38), assists (47-36) and digs (85-68) in the win.
Match 2: RedHawks 3, Hornets 0
It would be a tall task for Bama State to replicate its performance against Miami, who not only come from a strong conference, but also arrived in Montgomery with a 5-1 record. It showed its power in the first set, jumping out to a 4-1 start early on thanks to a pair of ace serves.
ASU was able to reel the RedHawks back in, rattling off four straight points for a 5-4 advantage and exchanging the lead many times throughout the opening frame. As it got down the stretch, however, Miami closed things out with five of the set's last seven points to open with a six-point win.
The second frame featured another strong fight from Alabama State, as there was no real early scoring run until a five-point stretch to give the Gold and Black an 11-8 lead. Miami promptly responded by winning six of the next seven and added four of the final five points to put the Hornets' backs against the wall.
ASU ran into a similar problem early on in set three, hanging with the RedHawks up until a 6-0 effort gave Miami a five-point lead. This time around, however, the visitors refused to let up, maintaining control in its 25-10 win to close out the night.
Davis led the way with nine kills on the night, while Clay had 29 points, nine digs and the team's lone ace serve in another strong individual performance. Junior middle blocker
Alexis Williams contributed eight sets and was the most impactful attacker, landing half of her attacks in a stellar effort in defeat.
The second day of the tournament opens on Saturday, Sept. 12, with the Bulldogs and RedHawks facing off at 11 a.m. before the Hornets and the Colonels of Nicholls State close things out at 2 p.m. inside the Acadome.
