BOCA RATON, Florida – Bethune-Cookman volleyball finished opening day shutout, as the Wildcats fell to FAU (25-20, 25-17, 25-19) and Northeastern (25-17, 25-14, 25-14) August 26, during day one of the FAU Invitational in Boca Raton, Florida.

MATCH ONE
During a match that saw five newcomers on the court for the first time in a Wildcat uniform, newbie Jai Chapman and redshirt senior Phylecia Armstrong led the B-CU offensive effort during the 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-19) setback.

Chapman finished her first B-CU match with a team-best 10 kills on 21 attempts (.333), while Armstrong ended her last first game with eight kills (.294).

Junior newcomer, Phalen Clark ran the Wildcat offense with a team-high 18 assists while senior Normarie Rolon Soto dug her way in the B-CU history books, as her 13 digs made her only the second Wildcat in school history to surpass the 1,000 mark with 1,006.

MATCH TWO
The Wildcats were upable to bounce-back in their second match of the day, falling to Northeastern, 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-14).

Junior Rakaya Neely finished her 2016 debut perfect, with six kills on ten attempts (.600) while adding three blocks.  

Again, the defense was led by Rolon Soto with seven digs, as Clark paced the BCU offense for a second-straight match with 16 assists.

UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman returns to the court Saturday, Aug. 17 as the Wildcats open day two of the FAU Invite with North Florida at 10 a.m., followed by a 4:30 p.m. match against Drake to wrap-up opening weekend in Boca Raton.