MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In the final match of the ISTAP Collegiate Cup Tournament inside the Joe L. Reed Dunn-Oliver Acadome on Saturday, the Alabama State University women's volleyball team came out on top against the Nicholls State Colonels, 3-1, to collect its second victory in as many days heading into its final tournament of the season.
Friday's match was expected to be a tight battle between the Hornets (2-8) and the Colonels (6-4), and it lived up to expectations. A majority of each frame featured no more than a five-point lead until mid-set momentum tipped the scales, and thanks to a number of factors, everything fell Alabama State's way.
Each team took advantage of each other's hitting errors in the first set, with Nicholls State hitting at less than a 10 percent success rate to open the door for Alabama State. It was close at first, as neither squad could gain any traction through the first half of the set. The middle part of the set saw ASU make a 4-0 run to make it a 15-13 advantage, an edge that was all it needed to feel comfortable and pull away for a 25-21 first-set win.
The Colonels ran out to a 9-2 lead before a trio of
Kaylen Hines kills trimmed the deficit to four. Nicholls State responded and took the set from there, and while
Lyric Edwards made a handful of kills to give the Hornets late hope, it wasn't enough to hold off an 8-0 NSU run as it pulled even in the match with a 25-12 second-frame victory.
Aces from
Taylor Williams and
Mirra Riddle boosted the Hornets to a 7-2 lead, and not only did the home team have success from the service line, but the attackers were much more efficient as ASU sought to put the Colonels' backs against the wall. Nicholls State responded by tying the set at 12, but a well-played trio of points followed to pad a lead that the Hornets never let go in its 25-19 victory.
Mirroring the pattern of the Hornets claiming the first points in the odd matches and the Colonels doing the same in the evens, match four began no differently – seeing NSU start with a short opening run before the Hornets pulled even and handled the ebb and flow of the set. As the points became more pivotal in the later stages, the up-front attackers for the Hornets came through in the clutch, with a pair of Hines kills and an
Emani Green service ace sealing the 25-19 win.
Hines had a wildly successful day on the front line, leading the Lady Hornets with 20 kills and a 49 percent attack success rate while contributing on eight blocks (2 solo). Edwards also reached double-digit kills with 10 on the afternoon and assisted on a pair of blocks.
Kamrynn Clay's 38 assists and
Taylor Williams' 14 digs were each team highs in its Saturday triumph over the Colonels.
The tight match was evident in the final team marks, as ASU held a one-kill advantage while having six more digs. NSU had an 8-6 edge in aces while being even with 42 assists apiece, although the Hornets' 11-5 block advantage was key in showing its domination.
The Lady Hornets look ahead to the Florida Atlantic Invitational in Boca Raton, Fla., when it will face the tournament host Lady Owls in its first (Sept. 18 at 11 a.m.) and final (Sept. 19 at 2 p.m.) games of the weekend. Its final tournament also features a Saturday morning meeting with Stetson (Sept. 19 at 11 a.m.) as the team gears up for conference play the following week.
