GREENSBORO, N.C. – Bethune-Cookman Volleyball Head Coach Brittany Williams captured her 100th career win in charge of the Wildcats on Saturday evening, as B-CU grabbed a pair of wins to close out play in the Aggie/Phoenix Invitational co-hosted by North Carolina A&T and Elon, respectfully. B-CU defeated Coppin State 3-0, and later returned to take down Elon 3-2 in a classic.
 
B-CU 3, COPPIN STATE 0
Sierra Herndon and Amya Jennings each posted nine kills Saturday afternoon as Bethune-Cookman took down Coppin State 3-0 at Corbett Sports Center on the campus of North Carolina A&T. The Wildcats took the match on scores of 25-22, 22-19, 22-17.
 
Coppin State (1-1) led 17-14 after a block from Cherisse Atilano, as the Eagles led for almost the entirety of the opening set.
 
However, a 6-2 run for Bethune-Cookman (1-1) came off the serve of setter Nola Hemphill as the Wildcats received a kill and an assisted block from Sierra Herndon, before sophomore Amya Jennings chipped in with a kill of her own. With the Cats up 23-20, Tiyanna Preston and Hemphill placed kills for the Maroon and Gold to give their side the opening set win.
 
In the second set, Bethune-Cookman hit at a match-high .349 clip with 16 kills against just one (1) error. Counter to that, the Cats defense held Coppin State to just a .244 mark.
 
Jennings had six kills from her outside hitter position in the second frame, while middle blocker Kaleigh Williams recorded three assisted blocks. Preston provided two kills and an assisted block for the Cats as well during the set.
 
The decisive third set saw the Wildcats take advantage of multiple CSU miscues as the Eagles hit at a negative mark (-.022) in the frame. CSU amassed 11 kills with 12 errors on 45 swings. B-CU accounted for 10 total blocks in the set, as senior Mecca Freeman combined with Williams to produce six blocks total (three each).
 
With the set tied at 12-12, Bethune-Cookman closed the match on a 13-5 run thanks in part to the serving duties of Rylee Davis and Hemphill, respectively. Two blocks on back-to-back points from the Wildcats' duo of Ariel Simmons and Herndon sealed the win.
 
Coppin State was led offensively by TaKenya Stafford with a match-high 10 kills, and setter Azul Pilahg had 16 assists. Libero Coco Figueroa led all performers with a match-high 24 digs.
 
As for the Wildcats, Jennings and Herndon each picked up nine kills on the afternoon to lead the team in that department. In fact, Herndon hit .571 in the match for the Maroon and Gold. Sthefany Carvalho had 18 digs for the Cats from her libero position on the court, while Jennings had 14 digs of her own to fall just short of a double-double. Williams sparked the front line with seven blocks (six assisted).
 
B-CU 3, ELON 2
Tiyanna Preston placed 10 kills and Amya Jennings had nine of her own Saturday evening as Bethune-Cookman held off homestanding Elon by a count of 3-2 at Schar Center in Elon, North Carolina. B-CU won the match on scores of 25-23, 25-21, 22-25, 13-25, 15-10.
 
The victory for Bethune-Cookman allowed Brittany Williams to collect her 100th career win as a collegiate head coach – all of those coming at the helm in Daytona Beach.
 
Elon (1-1) jumped out to the early lead behind kills from Clara Simmons, who finished with 5 kills on .308 hitting in the first set. Bethune-Cookman (2-1) gradually chipped away at the deficit, pulling within 12-10 midway through the set.
 
The turning point came late when the Wildcats tied the match at 20-20 on a kill by Tiyanna Preston. The set featured seven lead changes and 13 tie scores in a back-and-forth finish.
 
With Elon leading 22-20, Bethune-Cookman scored five of the next six points to close out the dramatic comeback victory. Amya Jennings led the offensive charge for the Wildcats with three kills on .222 hitting, while Ariel Simmons added 4 kills on .375 hitting. Setter Nola Hemphill distributed 13 assists.
 
In the second set, B-CU led 13-10 after consecutive attack errors by the Phoenix. In fact, Elon hit just .103 in the set – their second-lowest of the match. They worked their way back into it from kills provided off the swing of Caroline Berlekamp and Simrin Carlsen.
 
The Wildcats used the serving of freshman Melissa Gonzalez, who entered midway through the set and immediately made an impact. Gonzalez served an ace and forced multiple Elon errors during a crucial stretch.
 
The turning point came during a 4-0 Bethune-Cookman run that gave the Wildcats a 16-15 edge midway through the frame. Tiyanna Preston anchored the rally with two kills, while libero Sthefany Carvalho contributed a service ace and capitalized on Elon attack errors. Carvalho dominated the final stages of the set, serving four consecutive points to extend Bethune-Cookman's lead to 20-16.
Despite a late push by Elon that narrowed the margin to 24-21, Preston sealed the victory for the Cats with a kill from Kaleigh Williams to close out the 25-21 win.
 
Elon surged back in the third and fourth sets, holding the Wildcats to .022 hitting in the third, and then a .000 mark in the fourth set, respectfully. That allowed the host Phoenix to push the match to a decisive fifth and final set.
 
Bethune-Cookman jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the fifth set behind a service ace from Carvalho and a kill off the swing of Herndon.
 
The Cats took control with a decisive 5-1 run that transformed a 5-5 deadlock into a commanding 10-6 lead. Shayla Henry provided a key spark with multiple kills during the surge. Senior defensive specialist Rylee Davis also contributed to the rally with crucial digs.
 
B-CU led 13-9 late-on, eventually closing out the win courtesy a set error charged to the Phoenix and a Simmons kill.
 
Henry finished the decisive set with three kills.
 
For Elon, Cameron Lanier led the way with three kills in the fifth set.
 
Elon was paced in the match by three different players tallying 12 kills – Simmons, Cameron Lanier and Simrin Carlsen. April Rice set up a match-high 48 assists, and it was Simrin with 28 digs on defense.
 
For B-CU, Preston topped the Maroon and Gold with 10 kills. Hemphill provided 21 assists while teammate Gonzalez had 12. Meanwhile, Gonzalez and Carvalho each totaled three service aces in the match. Williams had a match-high nine blocks (assisted) to lead all players in that category.
 
Bethune-Cookman returns to action next weekend when the Wildcats travel to the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament hosted by St. Thomas (TX) in Houston, Texas. The weekend begins Friday, Sept. 5, as the Wildcats face off against Southern Miss at 1:30 p.m. ET.
 
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