Alcorn State University’s Volleyball team was in action Tuesday, September 5, against Jacksonville State from Jacksonville, Alabama. The Lady Braves came out with a ton of energy as they chanted, “WE’RE READY” repeatedly prior to the opening serve. Coming off a pair of losses, Alcorn is looking to win their first game of the season after beginning the season 0-9.
Jacksonville State opened the first set with a commanding 7-1 lead. Alcorn was unable to recover from this dominating start from the Gamecocks in the first set. Head Coach Chelsie Lucas encouraged her players to fight harder during the Braves’ first timeout upon which she made several changes to the team’s lineup in hopes of better play. Jacksonville State won the first set of the day by the score of 25-5 and the Braves looked to bounce back from the early deficit.
Alcorn entered the second set with furry as they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. Freshman Daharri Thompkins led the Braves’ early offensive attacks with two huge spikes against the Gamecocks’ defense. The Gamecocks would respond by tying the 2nd set with the score being 7-7. The second set was very high paced and both teams played with a high energy level. Freshman Kaylyn Latin played an exceptional all-around match but in the second set she especially excelled. She led the Braves in digs, as well as spikes in the 2nd set of the match. It was clear to see that Latin was the leader of this Braves’ attack all match. As this second set evolved, the lead continued to swap sides. The Braves fought with more desperation as they were able to win the second set by the score of 25-22. Both teams ran to the locker rooms winners of match a piece.
Similarly, to the second set, Alcorn struck first in the 3rd set. This time jumping in front 1-0 on a spike from Singryd Valadares. The 3rd set was very similar to set number two. The teams looked evenly matched as there were more lead changes throughout the set. Freshman Fiapaipai Iosia was very active all match as she was second on the team in total digs for this match. Iosia added to her nice game with a pair of spikes in the 3rd set. Despite the Lady Braves great effort, they fell short in the 3rd set 25-17.
The fourth set began negative for the Braves. Jacksonville State started the fourth set on an 8-2 run as the Braves began to show signs of fatigue. The Gamecocks would eventually emerge with the 4th set victory and the match victory. Despite Alcorn beginning the season 0-9 there were a plethora of positives to take away from the match.
The Braves were led by a trio of Freshman. Iosia and Latin dominated the middle of the court combining for 30 digs and 10 spikes. Meanwhile, Jasmine Chambers registered 13 assists, 6 digs, 4 kills and 4 spikes.
The Braves will travel to Jacksonville, Alabama for their next set of games. They will play Jacksonville State at 2:00 pm and The University of Louisiana Monroe at 7:00 pm on September 8 as they search for their first victories of the young season.