DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - B-CU's historic win streak comes to an end at nine as the Wildcats dropped a thrilling five-setter Alabama State on Senior Day at Moore Gymnasium.
Bethune-Cookman (13-12, 10-3 SWAC) and Alabama State (9-15, 8-4 SWAC) traded blows in the first set, with
Ariel Simmons kickstarting a B-CU run that put the Cats up 9-6.
Three straight kills from
Amya Jennings and a Bama State service error maintained the Wildcats lead at 14-12 before the Hornets tied things at 15-15.
Jennings continued her strong set with three more kills for the Cats as they held on for a 25-22 set one win.
In set two, the Wildcats found themselves trailing 19-15 before rallying back to within 20-18 on a swing from
Tiyanna Preston. Simmons and Preston added another kill each, but the Cats could not complete the comeback as the Hornets tied things with a 25-20 set win.
The Cats grabbed the first five points of the third set, but Alabama State raced back to take the lead at 8-7. The Hornets led as late as 24-20, but the Wildcats produced a furious rally behind the serve of
Kaleigh Williams, forcing four attack errors - including a big block from Preston
Sierra Herndon - and and a service ace to take the lead at 25-24.
Again Alabama State forced a match point with a kill and an ace, but a Simmons kill returned the serve to the Cats, with Herndon setting up match point an a Hornet attack error giving B-CU the lead again at 2-1.
The Cats found themselves in a similar spot in set four, trailing 23-20. For the second straight set, B-CU rallied back, setting up match point at 24-23 and another at 25-24. After a lengthy review on a
Tiyanna Preston kill was not overturned, Alabama State capitalized on a Williams service error to win the set, 27-25.
Alabama State commanded much of the final set, leading 8-5 before back-to-back Herndon blocks tied things at 8-8. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Alabama State took the reigns from there, going in front 13-9 and holding on for the 15-12 set and match win.
- Amya Jennings finished the match with 20 kills to lead the Wildcats - her third game of 20+ kills this season. She added 10 digs.
- Sthevany Carvalho collected 23 digs.
- AJ Simmons finished with 14 kills and six block assists. Tiyanna Preston added 13.
- Mellissa Gonzalez set a career-high in assists with 32, adding 12 digs
B-CU heads on the road for the home stretch of the regular season as they head to Tallahassee to take on rival Florida A&M on Friday, November 7 at 6 p.m.
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--#HailWildcats--
