Top Seeds advance to Semifinals of 2024 HBCUAC Volleyball Championship
BOSSIER CITY, La. - Day One of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) Volleyball Championship ended with the top four seeds advancing to the semifinals. The field of eight was cut to four as No. Talladega, No. 2 Dillard, No. 3 Fisk, and No. 4 Philander Smith survive and advance to Tuesday's Semifinals at Billy Montgomery Gymnasium on the campus of Bossier Parish Community College.
Tuesday's matchups feature No. 1 Talladega against No. 4 Philander Smith at Noon, followed by No. 2 Dillard versus No. 3 Fisk at 3 p.m. All matches will be broadcast live on the HBCUAC Channel through the streaming app HBCU Plus. Fans can download the app from Android, Apple, and other streaming devices' app stores.
SEMIFINALS SCHEDULE
Tuesday, November 12
No. 1 Talladega Tornadoes vs. No. 4 Philander Smith Panthers
Noon CT
No. 2 Dillard Bleu Devils vs. No. 3 Fisk Bulldogs
3 p.m. CT
NO. 4 PHILANDER SMITH 3, NO. 5 OAKWOOD 1 | BOXSCORE
Philander Smith University had three players record double-digit kills to advance to the semifinals with a four-set victory over Oakwood University (26-24, 25-14, 24-26, 25-19).
Zarea Winn led the Panthers with 13 kills in 36 attempts. Ja'Niya Sanders and Kiah Rucker followed with 11 and 10, respectively. Essence Wren notched a double-double with 42 assists and 13 digs. Christlove Lauture tallied a match-high 19 digs. Antonisha Whitney recorded a solo block and two block assists.
Oakwood jumped to an 8-3 lead on three kills by All-HBCUAC Second Team selection Kamaria Murray, and two by Cequoyah Harris and one by Mona Okello. Philander Smith bounced back with three kills by Maya Jones and an ace by Rucker to take a 14-12 lead. The Ambassadors responded and tied the set at 17 on a pair of errors by Philander Smith. Miscues by Oakwood eventually gave the first set to Philander Smith.
The second set was dominated by the Panthers as they recorded 15 kills in 28 attempts. Oakwood only put down eight kills in 20 attempts. It did not go quietly. Kills by Murray and Hannah Wingate and a service ace by Mona Okello put the Ambassadors ahead 13-8. Two kills by Sanders and three aces by Wren sparked a seven-point run, which gave Philander Smith a 15-13 lead. A kill by Murray and two attack errors by PSU, put Oakwood on top 21-18. A kill by Aleria Lane and two aces by Karissa Maldonado tied the set at 24. A kill by Okello and a Philander Smith attack error extended the Ambassadors season.
The fourth set was a battle. Philander Smith took control with two aces by Winn and kills from Wren and Lane gave it a 17-12 lead. Whitney and Rucker clinched the match with kills.
The Ambassadors finish the season 10-18. Murray led all attackers with 16 kills. All-HBCUAC Honorable Mention Cameryn Bucknor recorded a double-double with 30 assists and 19 digs. She also added four service aces. Miriangie Rondon and Okello tallied double-digit digs with 11 and 10, respectively.
NO. 2 DILLARD 3, NO. 7 TOUGALOO 0 | BOXSCORE
Dillard University volleyball players Vanae Sapp and Sara Da Silva recorded double-digit kills to lift the Bleu Devils to a sweep over Tougaloo College (25-9, 27-25, 25-12).
Sapp notched a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs, hitting .375. Da Silva put up 10 kills on 21 attempts and had two solo blocks. Dillard outhit Tougaloo .291 to .070 and outscored it 43-24 in kills.
The Bleu Devils breezed to a first-set victory putting down 14 kills in 24 attempts. They only allowed six kills by Tougaloo and forced them into six errors. The Bulldogs battled in the second set. Tougaloo put down 11 kills. Two blocks by Zoie Chambers and Kamyah Love gave the Bulldogs an 11-9 lead. Chambers got a kill and an attack error by Dillard increased Tougaloo's lead to 20-17.
Dillard roared back. Kills by Saige Grider and Cadence Thomas and an ace by Trenity Pender tied it at 20. Thomas got a kill and an ace by Jasmyne Mumphrey put the Bleu Devils ahead 23-22. Sapp put Dillard in position to clinch set point but a service error extended the set. Tougaloo staved off another set point on a Dillard attack error. Gabrielle Washington got a kill and teamed up with Sarai Rogers to clinch the second set.
The final set was controlled by Dillard as it put down 13 kills and only allowed seven. Nanyelis Moreno recorded 16 assists, five digs and two aces. Tyramae Fautanu put up 15 assists and two digs. Pender tallied nine digs, three aces and four assists.
Tougaloo finished the season 8-20. Kaliyah Shavers led the team with eight kills. Tatyeanna Armstrong tallied 12 assists and five digs. Zoie Chambers and Ke'Ira Collier posted 15 and 14 digs, respectively.
NO. 1 TALLADEGA 3, NO. 8 SUNO 0 | BOXSCORE
The top seed Talladega College overwhelmed No. 8 seed Southern University at New Orleans with a powerful attack in a sweep in the HBCUAC quarterfinals (25-15, 25-14, 25-13) Monday at Billy Montgomery Gymnasium.
The Tornadoes torched the Knights with 38 kills in 77 attempts for a .364 hitting percentage. Multiple players contributed to their attack with All-HBCUAC First Team selections Re'na Ashley and Franchesca Rivas leading the team with eight. Ashley added three block assists. Second Team All-HBCUAC selection Josephine Gates followed with six kills and four block assists. Zariah Messick added six kills and two digs. Giovana Costarelli and Nuria Santos each provided 15 assists. Santos supplied four service aces and Costarelli put up two aces and three digs.
Talladega never trailed in the first set. Marcelly Perez contributed two kills and two block assists during a six-point run for the Tornadoes, which increased their lead to 18-11. A kill by Gates and a set error by SUNO wrapped up the first set.
The Knights held momentum early in the second set. Ja'Myra Tyler got a kill, Trinity Bloodworth recorded a service ace and Alaina Obianozie and Taszia Adkinson teamed up for a block to give SUNO a 7-3 lead. A block by Gates and Perez started a five-point run for Talladega which tied the set at nine. The Knights were unable to match Talladega, which recorded 13 kills. A kill by Messick helped Talladega pull away with a 10-point run.
Two kills by Rivas and one by Perez helped the Tornadoes take control early in the third set. The Knights were unable to mount a comeback to extend their season - finishing 4-19. Reagan McDowell led the team with eight kills. A'Lon Clark recorded 12 assists and Bloodworth followed with eight. All-HBCUAC First Team selection Armoni Harris turned in a double-digit dig performance with 16.
NO. 3 FISK 3, NO. 6 STILLMAN 2 | BOXSCORE
Fisk University volleyball player and All-HBCUAC First Team selection Sydney Willis was one of four players with double-digit kills as the Bulldogs rallied to claim a five-set victory over Stillman College (23-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-14, 15-13).
Willis recorded 15 kills to lead all attackers. Delaney Farver followed with 12 kills. Trinity Crawford contributed 10 kills and eight digs. 2024 HBCUAC Player of the Year Reagan Jones added 10 kills, eight digs and two service aces. All-HBCUAC First Team selection Trinity Britt notched a double-double with 53 assists and 11 digs, along with two service aces. All-HBCUAC First Team selection Nialah Gupton led the team with 16 digs.
Ava Cameron, who was selected as the 2024 HBCUAC Freshman of the Year, led Stillman with 13 kills and five total blocks. Katlyn Lawson followed with 11 kills. Aeraeonna Manuel recorded nine kills and four total blocks. Kelis Conley supplied 44 assists and eight digs and three total blocks. All-HBCUAC Second Team selection Emily Powell recorded 15 digs.
Stillman trail 22-20 in the first set, Conley got a kill to cut the margin to one. A kill by Lawson and a block by Manuel and Cameron gave the Tigers the lead. Fisk tied it with a service error. Cameron got a block and a set error by Fisk clinched the first set.
The Bulldogs regrouped in the second set. Two errors by Stillman and kills by La'Niyah Lumpkin and Farver led to a six-point run. The Tigers could not get closer than two. Fisk put down 11 kills and evened the match with a service error by Stillman.
Trailing 15-13 in the third set, Stillman's Raine Patterson started a rally with a kill. A block by Cameron gave the Tigers the lead. Halie DeLoach got an ace and Manuel put down a kill to put Stillman ahead 21-17. Lawson put the Tigers within a victory of clinching the match with a kill.
With their season on the line, Fisk controlled the fourth set, opening with a five-point run. Britt recorded two aces and Farver and Jones scored kills. A kill by Crawford increased the Bulldogs' lead to double-digits. A kill by Willis forced the decisive fifth set.
Fisk took the early lead in the fifth set with kills by Crawford and Lumpkin. Lawson tied the set at six with two kills. Jones recorded three kills to give the Bulldogs a 10-6 lead. Powell recorded an ace and kills by Cameron and Lawson tied the set at 11. Jones again gave Fisk the lead with a kill and a service ace. A kill by Cameron and an ace by DeLoach tied it at 13. Kills by Farver and Willis clinched the match for Fisk.