DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Bethune-Cookman Volleyball opened the home season with a split with a 3-0 win over South Carolina State, followed by a tough 3-2 loss at the hands of Charleston Southern. 


Game One - B-CU 3, SC State 0

The Wildcats made light work of former MEAC opponent South Carolina State in the home opener, hitting .222 for the match with 40 kills and six blocks. 

Despite trailing 17-14 and 19-17 in the first set, the Wildcats rallied back for six straight points thanks to three kills from Ariel Simmons to go up 24-22. 

The Bulldogs knotted things at 24-24 before Simmons and Tiyanna Preston ended things in the first at 26-24.

Following the set one scare, the Wildcats erupted, pushing in front of the Bulldogs, 18-8 in set two before racing to a 25-12 set win. 

The third set saw South Carolina State fare no better. After a 4-4 start to the set, the Wildcats again scored nine straight to go in front 13-4. The Bulldogs mounted some resistance to pull to within 18-12, but they could not get closer as back-to-back attack errors saw the Wildcats finish things off at 25-16 for the straight-set win. 

Tiyanna Preston led the way with 12 kills on a .321 hitting percentage for the match. She also added nine digs.

AJ Simmons was next, hitting an impressive .571 with eight kills.

Kaleigh Williams continued her strong start at the net with four block assists.

Sthefany Carvalho led in the digs department with 17. 

Game Two - Charleston Southern 3 B-CU 2

A hard fought second leg of the doubleheader saw the Wildcats drop a heartbreaker to Charleston Southern, 3-2. 

The Cats again jumped in front early, as three CSU errors and a Williams kill made it 8-2 to start the first set before the Buccaneers pulled back to within one at 15-14 on a Oliwia Durka kill.

From there, the a Carvalho ace and three straight CSU attack errors allowed B-CU to rebuild the lead to 20-14. 

The Bucs came as close as 22-21, but a B-CU service ace took set one for the Cats, 25-21. 

Charleston Southern flipped the script in set two, scoring the first five points of the set on four B-CU errors.

The two sides traded serves from there, with the Wildcats eventually climbing to within 17-16. The Buccaneers took things over from there as they took set two, 25-19. 

Another tight set saw neither team lead the third by more than four, but Charleston Southern came out on top, 25-21 

Both sides hit under .200 in a lengthy fourth set. After ties at 11-11, 16-16, 17-17, and 21-21, kills from Shayla Henry, Williams, and Preston, all set up by Nola Hemphill, gave the Cats the 25-23 edge, forcing a decisive fifth set. 

A Bucs error and Carvalho ace gave B-CU a quick 5-2 lead in the fifth. The Cats held that lead up to 10-8 as Williams put the Cats within five of a win. 

Sierra Herndon's kill made it 12-9, B-CU. The Wildcats came within a point of victory off an attack error by the Bucs, but the Cats could not close as Charleston Southern rallied for four straight off a B-CU service error and two attack errors. 

The Wildcats extended the match on back-to-back kills from Williams, but the Buccaneers finished things off for the 18-16 win. 

Simmons and Henry led B-CU with 13 kills apiece in the match. Williams came next with 11 kills along with a career-high nine blocks. Carvalho collected a season-high 32 digs.