GRAMBLING, La. – Brooke Lynn Watts accounted for 16 kills Saturday afternoon in helping No. 1 Florida A&M defeat No. 4 Bethune-Cookman 3-0 in the semifinals of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Volleyball Tournament inside Hobdy Assembly Center on the campus of Grambling State in Grambling, Louisiana. FAMU took the match with scores of 25-18, 25-22, 25-16.
 
Florida A&M (26-6) got seven kills in the opening set from Brooke Lynn Watts with Iyonnie Sanford adding three kills of her own.
 
Bethune-Cookman (15-14) bounced back with a .237 hitting percentage in the second set, using five kills from senior outside hitter Jasmine Robinson. Elizabeth Phillips, a redshirt senior outside hitter from Indianapolis, Indiana, added three kills, and fifth-year senior Ktyal Price had two kills and four blocks (two solo).
 
The Cats led 14-9 in the second set before a 12-2 run ensued by the Rattlers to allow the top-seed a 21-16 advantage with Sanford and Watts providing the bulk of the points during the run.
 
Kalia Todd and Sanford went back-to-back for kills to conclude the set for FAMU.
 
Watts would add five kills in the third set alongside Isis Williams' four kills as the Rattlers posted a .234 attack percentage in the frame.
 
For the match, it was All-SWAC performer Watts finishing with 16 kills to lead all players on the day. Makenzie Taylor finished with 20 assists, and it was Bryshanna Brown turning in 19 digs.
 
Bethune-Cookman used a team-high eight kills from Robinson, while Price concluded her last match for the Maroon and Gold with five kills and seven blocks. Nola Hemphill had 15 assists, and sophomore libero Sydni Poston collected 14 digs.
 
Niara Hightower, also playing her final game for B-CU, provided four blocks (two solo) to set the new school record for blocks in a single season (139).
 
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