TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman Volleyball concludes the 2023 regular season this weekend as the Wildcats travel to Tallahassee, Florida on Friday, Nov. 10, to take on the Florida A&M Rattlers in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) matchup at Al Lawson Center. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
 
The Cats arrive in Tallahassee having won four of their last five matches, including a 3-2 decision in BCU's last contest away to Mississippi Valley State on Sunday, Nov. 5.
 
MATCH #27: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats at Florida A&M Rattlers
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Al Lawson Center (9,639)
WATCH LIVE: Rattler Vision
LIVE STATS: Click Here
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
▪ Florida A&M is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Bethune-Cookman Volleyball this year by following the Wildcats on all their social media platforms. You can follow @BCUVolleyball on Instagram and @BCUVolleyball on Twitter.
 
NEWS & NOTES
▪ The Wildcats have won four of their last five matches entering Friday's affair, including going 3-0 in the SWAC Cluster #2 event hosted by the Maroon and Gold at Moore Gymnasium two weeks ago.
▪ Last Friday at Jackson State, Niara Hightower registered her 100th block of the 2023 campaign.
▪ Bethune-Cookman has already qualified for the upcoming SWAC Volleyball Tournament set to take place in Houston on November 17-19.
▪ Five performers have 100 or more kills on the season for BCU, including Mia Delahoussaye with a team-leading 174 (2.56 per set). Elizabeth Phillips owns 126 kills (1.97 per set).
▪ Phillips also leads the squad with 23 service aces.
▪ The two-setter system employed by Head Coach Brittany Williams is powered at the top by Alisha Callender (350 assists) and followed up nicely by Madison Coates (258 assists).
▪ Despite missing a number of games with injury following the opening weekend, graduate transfer libero/defensive specialist Essence Bell tops the squad with 273 digs (4.88 per set). Other than Bell, only sophomore Rylee Davis has more than 200 digs on the campaign, with the San Antonio, Texas native registering 200 for the season.
▪ Hightower continues to lead the SWAC in blocks with 104 (1.16 per set). Ktyal Price sits second on the team with 63 total blocks (48 assisted).
 
BCU VS. FAMU SERIES
▪ Florida A&M leads the all-time series against Bethune-Cookman by a sizeable 61-6 margin in a series with records dating back to September 30, 1989.
▪ The first victory for the Wildcats over their in-state opponent came by way of a 3-0 decision in Daytona Beach on November 9, 2014, as part of a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) contest between the two sides in Moore Gymnasium.
▪ In fact, BCU won three consecutive matches against the Rattlers from 2014 through 2015.
▪ FAMU has collected wins in each of the last six outings between the two sides, including a 3-0 contest earlier this season in Daytona Beach, respectfully.
▪ The last BCU win against the Rattlers came in Tallahassee via 3-1 decision on November 8, 2019.
 
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
▪ Florida A&M enters the weekend sporting a 15-13 overall record, as well as an 11-4 mark in league play.
▪ The Rattlers have won five consecutive matches coming into Friday night's contest, including three wins during the SWAC Cluster #2 event hosted by Bethune-Cookman two weeks ago.
▪ Brooke Lynn Watts leads the Rattlers with 315 kills (3.50 per set), followed by Lyonnie Sanford with 207 kills (2.16 per set).
▪ The offense runs through setter Camila De La Rosa, as she tops the squad with 623 assists (8.42 per set).
▪ Four different players have 20 or more service aces – Brooke Hudson (31), Kaitlyn Scroggins (25), Emerald Jacobs (23) and Watts (21).
▪ Defensively, Hudson leads all players with 558 digs (5.17 per set). Watts is second on the squad in digs with 218 under her belt, followed by Jacobs (205).
▪ With 78 total blocks, Isis Williams tops the team in that category, turning in an average of 0.79 blocks per set.
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST FAMU
Mecca Freeman posted five kills off the bench for Bethune-Cookman as the Wildcats hosted Florida A&M to Moore Gymnasium. FAMU collected the match on set scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 25-17 to earn the 3-0 win.
 
Florida A&M 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.
 
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.
 
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CATS
Record – 7-19 (.269) // SWAC Record – 7-8 (.467) // Last 5 Matches – 4-1 (.800) // Last 10 Matches – 5-5 (.500) // Last 15 Matches – 7-8 (.467)
 
UP NEXT
The SWAC Volleyball Tournament takes place November 17-19, in Prairie View, Texas. PVAMU serves as the host of the annual event. Seedings will be announced on Saturday, Nov. 11, with BCU having already qualified for the event. An opponent, date, and time for the Wildcats will be announced by the SWAC Office this weekend.
 
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