DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Mecca Freeman posted five kills off the bench for Bethune-Cookman on Friday evening as the Wildcats hosted Florida A&M to Moore Gymnasium for a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Volleyball contest. FAMU collected the match on set scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 25-17 to earn the 3-0 win.
 
For Bethune-Cookman (3-16, 3-5 SWAC), it was "Senior Appreciation Night" as the Wildcats honored Essence Bell, Madison Coates, Janleen De Jesus, Jasmine Moore, Ktyal Price and Malina Spencer prior to the match.
 
Florida A&M (10-11, 6-2 SWAC) led 22-13 in the first set before a furious BCU rally ensued, eventually forcing a pair of timeouts from the visiting Rattlers.
 
AJ Simmons placed a kill down the middle, followed in order by kills from Mecca Freeman and Mia Delahoussaye off the set of Alisha Callender. The Puerto Rico native, Callender, would register a kill of her own off a block error charged to FAMU, allowing BCU to pull within 22-17. After another FAMU attack error, Delahoussaye notched one of her four kills in the opening frame to bring the Cats to within 22-19. After another Freeman kill and an error charged to the Rattlers, BCU trailed 23-21.
 
A Jasmine Robinson kill and a BCU attack that sailed wide of the line allowed FAMU the 25-21 set win.
 
In the second set, the Wildcats had their highest hitting percentage of the night with a .205 clip coming off 13 kills and 39 swings. Delahoussaye combined with Moore for eight kills between the pair, while Niara Hightower provided two kills and three blocks (two assisted).
 
With the Maroon and Gold trailing on the scoreboard at 22-17, Hightower followed a Rattlers attack error with a kill, before the SWAC's leader in total blocks placed a solo block inbounds to pull her side to within 22-19. However, a service error by the Cats – added blocks from the Rattlers' Isis Williams and Lyonnie Sanford, in addition to a kill by Brooke Lynn Watts gave the visitors a 25-22 set win.
 
The third set would see FAMU hit at a match-high .276 percentage as the Rattlers limited Bethune-Cookman to just a .074 hitting percentage in the frame.
 
Watts sparked her side with five kills, while Sanford and Emerald Jacobs each recorded three kills apiece to go along with three assisted blocks by Williams. BCU used three kills from Freeman off the bench as she hit .600 individually in the period.
 
On the night, the Rattlers were led by Watts with 12 kills, followed in double-digits by Sanford with 10 kills. Camila De La Rosa provided a match-high 33 assists. And it would be Brooke Hudson leading the Rattlers defensively with a match-high 22 digs. Williams led FAMU with seven assisted blocks and one solo.
 
As for the hosts, Delahoussaye led all Wildcats performers with eight kills in the match. Freeman had five kills to her credit. Coates tallied a team-high 16 kills, and teammate Callender had 11 assists. Moore had three service aces to lead all Wildcats in that department. And it was Essence Bell collecting a team-best 15 digs.
 
Bethune-Cookman next faces SWAC opponent Alabama A&M on Friday, Oct. 20, in Huntsville, Alabama. BCU took down the Bulldogs by a 3-2 decision inside Moore Gymnasium earlier this season. First serve for that match away to AAMU is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
 
Follow Bethune-Cookman Volleyball on Twitter (@BCUVolleyball) and Instagram (@BCUVolleyball) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BCUAthletics), Instagram (@BCU_Athletics) and BCUathletics.com.