NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – With a combination of newcomers and experience, Bethune-Cookman volleyball earned its first victory over the Allstate Sugar Bowl Tournament hosts, Tulane, 3-2 (25-22, 17-25, 30-32, 25-18, 15-10) Saturday (Sept. 3) in New Orleans, Louisiana, before falling to UT Rio Grande Valley, 3-0 (25-8, 25-23, 25-15).

GAME ONE
Redshirt senior Phylecia Armstrong made her mark in the BCU history books as the senior finished the match with 15 kills and no errors on 20 attempts, earning her the best single-game hitting percentage in school history (.750). The middle blocked also collected a service ace and four blocks during the win.

Rookie Alana Handy continued to lead the Wildcats offensively finishing with a match-best 20 kills and collecting her second-straight double-double of the season adding 12 digs.

Fellow newcomer Alondra Bautista adding a double-double for the Wildcats finishing with 15 kills and a match-best 22 digs.

Sophomore J'nai Higgins collected a season-best 42 digs for BCU during the victory while senior Normaire Rolon Soto finished with 11 digs.

GAME TWO
After the five-set victory in match one, the Wildcats returned to the court immediately taking on UTRGV.

Unable to bring any momentum from the first match to the final of the tournament, Armstrong led BCU offensively finishing with seven kills.

Higgins paced the offense again with 17 assists, as Bautista added 14 digs to her daily count.

UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman returns to action on Friday Sept. 9 as the Wildcats head west to Flagstaff, Arizona to take on Northern Arizona in a two-day series.