DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman Volleyball travels to the first Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) cluster event of the 2023 season this weekend, as the Wildcats travel to Houston for a trio of matches against Prairie View A&M, Southern (La.) and Texas Southern, respectively. Texas Southern is hosting the cluster at the Health & Physical Education Arena.
 
Bethune-Cookman enters the weekend sitting at 2-13 overall (2-2 SWAC), having split a pair of league matches a week ago in Daytona Beach against Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State, respectfully.
 
MATCH #16: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. Prairie View A&M Panthers
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 8, at 11 a.m. CT
WHERE: Health & Physical Education Arena (Houston, Texas)
 
MATCH #17: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. Southern (La.) Jaguars
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 8, at 5 p.m. CT
WHERE: Health & Physical Education Arena (Houston, Texas)
 
MATCH #18: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. Texas Southern Tigers
WHEN: Monday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m. CT
WHERE: Health & Physical Education Arena (Houston, Texas)
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
▪ Prairie View A&M is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
▪ Southern (La.) is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
▪ Texas Southern is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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NEWS & NOTES
▪ Mia Delahoussaye was named this week's SWAC Newcomer of the Week.
▪ Delahoussaye helped guide Bethune-Cookman to a 1-1 mark in two matches last weekend versus Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State, respectively. For the weekend, the South Hills High alum carried a .348 hitting percentage to go along with 21 kills on 46 swings.
▪ Niara Hightower leads the SWAC with 50 blocks (1.00 per set), using 12 solo and 38 assisted on the campaign. Hightower also sits ninth in the league in hitting percentage (.230).
▪ The two-setter system by Head Coach Brittany Williams sees Alisha Callender hold 170 assists (4.36 per set) and teammate Madison Coates with 152 (3.17 per set).
▪ Elizabeth Phillips tops the Maroon and Gold with 12 service aces, placing her fourth in the SWAC in that department.
▪ Ktyal Price owns a team-high .297 hitting percentage.
▪ Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Rylee Davis leads the squad with 126 digs (2.80 per set), followed by Callender (75) and Coates (73), in order. Davis' digs allows her to place eighth in the league.
▪ With a 2-2 league record, the Cats are tied for seventh in the league coming into the SWAC Cluster, sitting alongside Texas Southern in the league standings.
 
BCU VS. PRAIRIE VIEW A&M SERIES
▪ Bethune-Cookman trails the all-time series against Prairie View A&M by a count of 3-1. The lone win for the Wildcats in the series came via a 3-0 decision in New Orleans back on Sept. 8, 2018. Since joining the SWAC, Prairie View has won both outings between the two sides, including a hard-fought 3-2 decision last year in Prairie View, Texas.
 
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
▪ Prairie View A&M comes into the SWAC Cluster against Bethune-Cookman sporting an even 9-9 overall record, as well as a perfect 4-0 mark in league play.
▪ The Panthers have defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling State, Alcorn State and Southern (La.), respectfully.
▪ Kylee Owens leads the team with 206 kills (3.27 per set) and hitting at a .259 clip. She also leads the team with 25 service aces.
▪ Nyah Walker follows with 127 kills (1.98 per set), adding 16 service aces.
▪ The setter for the Panthers is Leah Lawson, as she heads up the squad with 554 assists (8.79 per set).
▪ Three players have 100 digs or more – Jaqueline Nino (211), Owens (171) and Lawson (160).
▪ The team's leading blocker is Janyah Henderson with 51 (13 solo), followed by Walker's 31 and teammate Kiersten Atkinson with 31 of her own.
 
BCU VS. SOUTHERN (LA.) SERIES
▪ The series between Bethune-Cookman and Southern University is tied at two matches a piece.
▪ BCU has taken both meetings between the sides since joining the SWAC, including a 3-0 decision from the Jaguars last season at the SWAC Cluster in Montgomery, Alabama.
▪ The series first started in 1998 with Southern winning the contest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
 
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
▪ Southern University enters the SWAC Cluster sporting an overall record of 4-8, while using a 2-1 record in league play.
▪ The Jaguars have defeated Alcorn State and Texas Southern, and have fallen to Prairie View A&M in league play.
▪ Elise Doomes is the team's leader in kills with 72, followed by Jordan Felix (50) and Janelle Pye-Blacknard (50).
▪ Felix owns a team-leading 161 assists and 10 service aces as well.
▪ The digs come from Alissa Santoyo with 101. Felix has 74 digs and Pye-Blacknard owns 67, respectfully.
 
BCU VS. TEXAS SOUTHERN SERIES
▪ In the all-time series between Bethune-Cookman and Texas Southern, the Wildcats own a commanding 5-1 advantage in the six meetings between the two sides.
▪ The series began in 1998 with a 3-0 decision in favor of the Maroon and Gold in Houston.
▪ BCU took the lone meeting between the two teams last year at the SWAC Cluster in Montgomery, Alabama, while TXSO recorded a 3-1 win in Grambling, Louisiana back in 2021.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
▪ Texas Southern has a 2-16 overall record on the year and utilizes an even 2-2 record in SWAC play.
▪ The Tigers have defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alcorn State, respectfully, while falling at home to Grambling State and Southern (La.).
▪ Kennedy Reed is the Tigers leader in kills (110), followed closely by Gracie Hill (92) and Amber Johnson (86), respectively.
▪ TXSO uses a two-setter system, as Dallas Balanay-Flores (220 assists) and Ava Ray (147 assists) engineer the offensive attack.
▪ Ryan Henderson owns a team-high 157 digs (3.27 per set), as Reed (95 digs) follows her, defensively, in that area.
▪ In the blocks department, Kourtni Collier leads all players with 35. Chenise Cook is second on the squad with 23 blocks (17 assisted).
 
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CATS
Record – 2-13 (.133) // SWAC Record – 2-2 (.500) // Last 5 Matches – 2-3 (.400) // Last 10 Matches – 2-8 (.200) // Last 15 Matches – 2-13 (.133)
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE CATS
Bethune-Cookman hit .337 as a team as the Wildcats defeated visiting Mississippi Valley State by a count of 3-0 in a SWAC matchup inside Moore Gymnasium. BCU tallied set scores of 25-13, 25-12, 25-11 in earning its second SWAC win of the season.
 
Bethune-Cookman raced out to a 12-3 lead in the opening set behind the play of AJ Simmons and Mia Delahoussaye. The two combined for eight kills in the set, while redshirt senior setter Madison Coates delivered 12 assists in the opening frame. Mississippi Valley State worked back into the set at 16-11, using a pair of BCU errors – one on serve and one on attack. But it would be the Wildcats scoring nine of the last 11 points in the frame, assisted by kills from Delahoussaye and Simmons down the stretch to secure the 25-13 set win.
 
Both teams hit at a rather high percentage in the second set, as MVSU solidified a .318 attack percentage, and BCU used a .412 hitting form itself. Jasmine Moore registered a career-high set average with an .857 hitting percentage in tallying six kills on seven swings in the second frame. Delahoussaye added a .667 percentage with four kills on six total attacks. Meanwhile the Delta Devils used Ashlynn Hawkins' four kills against one error on six attacks in the set. As a team, BCU netted 16 kills on 34 swings and just two errors en route to the 25-12 set win.
 
In the third set, Simmons had two assisted blocks while Niara Hightower had a solo and an assisted block for the Maroon and Gold. BCU hit at a .270 clip, holding the visiting Delta Devils to just -.059 in the frame. Elizabeth Phillips contributed four kills in the frame, while Chloe Conover came off the bench to add two kills of her own. The Cats took the set, 25-11. MVSU was led on the afternoon by Hawkins with six kills and nine digs. Torre Giron supplied her side with four kills and six digs. Mikayla Lee recorded 14 assists and five digs from the setter position.
 
Bethune-Cookman was paced by the play of Delahoussaye reaching double-digit kills for the third time this season in supplying her side with 12 kills on 23 attacks. Moore added eight kills, while teammate Hightower posted seven kills, five digs and four blocks (three assisted). Coates delivered a season- and match-high 26 assists to go along with eight digs. Essence Bell pulled in a match- and season-best 19 digs to lead the Wildcats defensively.
 
UP NEXT
Once returning from the first SWAC Cluster of the season, BCU hosts in-state foe Florida A&M to Moore Gymnasium on Friday, Oct. 13, at 6 p.m. The match serves as "Senior Appreciation Night" for the Wildcats on what is also a BCU Homecoming weekend.
 
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