BATON ROUGE, La. – Bethune-Cookman Volleyball travels to Southern University and Alcorn State this weekend for a pair of Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) matches in both Louisiana and Mississippi, respectively. The Wildcats first visit Southern (La.) on Friday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT).
 
MATCH #18: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats at Southern (La.) Jaguars
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT)
WHERE: Clifford Seymour Gym (Baton Rouge, La.)
WATCH: Jaguar Sports Network ($)
LIVE STATS: Click Here
 
MATCH #19: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats at Alcorn State Braves
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 12, at 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT)
WHERE: Davey L. Whitney Complex (Lorman, Miss.)
LIVE STATS: Click Here
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman 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
▪ Alcorn State 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
▪ Head Coach Brittany Williams now has 104 career wins since taking the helm in Daytona Beach in 2015.
▪ Sophomore outside hitter Amya Jennings set a new career high in kills during her last match versus Florida A&M, recording 23 in the 3-1 win from the Rattlers.
▪ Equally as impressive was a new career high in kills from classmate and fellow outside hitter Tiyanna Preston with 18 kills and hitting .325 on the night against the Rattlers at home.
▪ Freshman setter melissa Gonzalez made her first collegiate start in her last outing at home to FAMU.
▪ Against FAMU, B-CU hit a season-high and near program-best .773 clip in the opening set against FAMU in its last outing, accumulating 17 kills on 22 swings and zero (0) errors in the opening frame.
▪ As a team, Bethune-Cookman sits second in the league for total blocks (138), and also atop the conference in digs (1,000).
▪ Freshman Kaleigh Williams leads the SWAC in total blocks (77). Sierra Herndon is tied for fourth with 45 blocks (36 assisted).
▪ In her first season with the program, graduate transfer Sthefany Carvalho tops the SWAC in digs with 284 (4.51 dig/s).
▪ With the win over FAMU, the Cats ended a 10-match losing skid to the Rattlers.
▪ Three different players have eclipsed 100 kills on the campaign for the Maroon and Gold: Preston (146), Ariel Simmons (127) and Jennings (109).
 
BCU VS. SOUTHERN (LA.) SERIES
▪ Bethune-Cookman is 4-2 all-time in the series against the Southern Jaguars.
▪ Since joining the SWAC, B-CU is 4-0 against the Jaguars.
▪ Southern won the first two meetings in the series back in 1998 and '99, respectfully.
▪ Last season, the Cats collected a 3-1 win from Southern in Tallahassee, Florida, as the match was moved due to Hurricane Milton.
 
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
▪ Southern enters the weekend having won each of their last three matches, including a 3-0 sweep of in-state rival Grambling on Monday evening in Grambling, Louisiana.
▪ The Jaguars are 6-11 overall, and 3-2 in SWAC play under second-year head coach Dawn Barnes.
▪ Ariana Brown owns a team-leading 206 kills for the Jaguars, hitting at a .205 clip with 3.49 kills per set across the campaign.
▪ No other Jaguar player has more than 75 kills.
▪ The setter for the Jaguars is Jordan Felix with a team-most 379 assists (6.42 a/s).
▪ As a team, Southern has 93 service aces, led at the top by Najah Harris (19) and Brown (18).
▪ Defensively, Harris owns a team-high 198 digs (3.36 dig/s), followed by Brown with 127 digs (2.15 dig/s).
▪ Blocks are provided by the combination of Hanna Pereira with 22 total (16 assisted), as well as Sophie Diouf with 21 total (19 assisted).
 
BCU VS. ALCORN STATE SERIES
▪ Bethune-Cookman leads the short series all-time against Alcorn State by a count of 5-0.
▪ The Wildcats have won the last three decisions by 3-0 margins of victory.
▪ Last season, B-CU won a 3-0 match to the Braves in Tallahassee, Florida due to the match being moved from the effects of Hurricane Milton.
▪ The teams first met in 2005 at a tournament in Troy, Alabama, while since meeting once per season with B-CU entering the SWAC in fall of 2021.
 
SCOUTING THE BRAVES
▪ Alcorn State owns a 2-16 overall record entering the weekend tilt with the pair of Florida schools, as well as a 1-4 mark in league play.
▪ The Braves collected their first SWAC win Monday evening away to Arkansas-Pine Bluff courtesy a 3-2 decision.
▪ Two different Braves have eclipsed 100 kills on the season in the form of Rylan Jones (126) and Courtney Carter (106).
▪ The Alcorn State setter is Juliana Henao who tops the squad with 288 assists (5.43 a/s).
▪ The service aces are provided by Courtney Carter who has registered 16 on the season.
▪ Tomoni Giddings leads the team with 214 digs (3.63 dig/s), and it's Carter following with triple digits, as she owns 100 digs (1.69 dig/s).
▪ Jones is the leader in blocks with 22 (16 assisted).
▪ The Braves are hitting just .086 as a team, with opponents claiming a .230 clip hitting against them.
 
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CATS
2025 Record – 6-11 (.353) // 2025 SWAC Record – 3-2 (.600) // Last 5 Matches – 3-2 (.600) // Last 10 Matches – 3-7 (.300) // Last 15 Matches – 5-10 (.333) // The Wildcats are seeking to match last season's 5-2 start to the SWAC campaign this weekend with a key road swing.
 
UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman returns home for a weekend visit from the pair of Texas SWAC schools in the form of Texas Southern (October 17) and Prairie View A&M (October 19) at Richard V. Moore Gymnasium in Daytona Beach, Florida.
 
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