CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The LadyCats of Bethune-Cookman volleyball opened the 10th Annual Hurricane Invitational like the pieces had finally come together, taking out the first set against FIU. However, the Panthers quickly fired back and powered past B-CU over the next three sets, handing B-CU the 3-1 loss.
Though FIU claimed the early advantage in the opening set, B-CU fought their way into the game, tied it up and broke the deadlock at 10, going on 6-1 swing to take control. FIU stayed close, but the LadyCats were able to keep them at an arm's length, breaking out of a late-game tie to put in four consecutive points for the 25-21 win. In the opening set, B-CU had their best hitting of the day, logging a .214 team hitting percentage, while holding the Panthers to .154.
"We played excellent volleyball in the first set," said Head Coach Vanessa Cogswell. "It looked like everything was falling into place. We started strong and kept the lead throughout the set, AND finished strong."
In the second, FIU came out hard, and the LadyCats struggled to generate offensive points. The result was FIU taking a heavy lead early in the game, rolling it to their biggest lead as the set concluded, winning by 15 in the 25-10 victory.
In set three, the LadyCats hit better on offense, but FIU was in control of the game, jumping out to an early lead, which held until 17-6 before the LadyCats really got rolling again on offense. The LadyCats made a move to claw back into the set, scoring seven consecutive points to bring it within four, but FIU surged from then on, doubling up on B-CU's scores, en route to a 25-17 win.
In the fourth, B-CU kept within striking distance early in the set. However, just past the mid-point, FIU started to pull away, finishing the LadyCats off with a string of eight consecutive scores, winning the game 25-14, and the match 3-1.
"Then it seemed like a totally different team came out for us in the second set. We had a breakdown in serve receive and were unable to spread the ball around," noted Cogswell of the letdown in later sets. "We were not disciplined on the block and it gave our back row a hard time to get in good position to play the ball. Unforced errors killed us and it became more contagious as we went on to the third and the fourth sets."
Freshman hitter Kat Agson came through to lead the team, notching 9 kills on a .286 hitting percentage in the match, while B-CU's current kill leader, Krysta Gardner finished with 6 kills, hampered by 8 attack errors in the match. Alexis Bliese recorded 25 assists in the match, but made an impact on defense as well, collecting 13 digs to tie fellow freshman libero Jennifer Jimenez for the dig leader on the day.
The LadyCats (2-9) have played well at home this season, but have had struggles early in the year away from Moore Gym, facing tough competition in non-conference tournaments. The LadyCats face more heavy competition on Saturday, as the Hurricane Invitational continues with B-CU taking on tournament-host Miami early in the day, followed by San Francisco.
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