BOCA RATON, Fla. – Shayla Henry and Ariel Simmons helped spark Bethune-Cookman Volleyball on Friday as the Wildcats took on Stetson and George Washngton in nonconference action as part of the Owls Paradise Classic hosted by Florida Atlantic inside Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton, Florida.
 
Bethune-Cookman fell 3-1 to Stetson, before coming back and dropping a 3-0 decision to George Washington in the nightcap.
 
STETSON 3, B-CU 1
Shayla Henry had 13 kills and Ariel "AJ" Simmons supplied 10 as Bethune-Cookman suffered a tough 301 setback to Stetson in the opening match of the Owls Paradise Classic hosted by Florida Atlantic at Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton, Florida. The Hatters took the match on scores of 24-26, 25-14, 25-17, 29-27.
 
Bethune-Cookman (3-7) opened the match with an overtime winner against its cross-county opponent.
 
Freshman Kaleigh Williams – the reigning SWAC Newcomer of the Week, registered four kills and three blocks (two assisted) in the opening set, as B-CU limited Stetson (4-6) to a match-low .132 hitting percentage. Tiyanna Preston added three kills for the Maroon and Gold while taking the overtime winner.
 
B-CU trailed 24-21 in the opener before sophomore Amya Jennings delivered a kill, followed by an attack error charged to the Hatters that brought the Cats to within 24-23. A kill from the side off the swing of Mecca Freeman tied the set, setting the stage for Sierra Herndon to collect one of her two blocks on the afternoon to put the Cats up and serving for set-point, 25-24. Another hatters error, one of 10 in the set, closed the frame.
 
It would be Jennings and Simmons tallying three kills apiece in the second set, despite the hatters hitting a match-high .419 in the frame. Henry would be the top performer in the third set with her four kills on just five swings.
 
The fourth set saw the second overtime frame of the match, as both teams served for set point down the stretch.
 
After Jennings put down a kill to allow the Cats to serve for the match, a red card was issued to the B-CU bench, allowing the Hatters to knot the score at 24-24.
 
On two separate occasions, Stetson would serve for the match, but each time resulted in a Bethune-Cookman response.
 
A kills from Simmons put the Maroon and Gold up at 27-26, and put the ball in the hands of graduate student libero Sthefany Carvalho – the reigning SWAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week, to serve for the set. Xinlei Yang of Stetson's kill tied the set once again, this time at 27, before a B-CU attack error and a kill from Kayla Balfour gave the Hatters the win, 29-27.
 
Stetson was paced by Yang with a match-high 19 kills. Jenna Simmons and Zuzanna Bury each had 18.
 
B-CU was topped by Henry's 13-kill outpouring, and Simmons with 10. Nola Hemphill (20 assists / 12 digs) and Melissa Gonzalez (16 assists / 11 digs) each tallied double-doubles. Williams finished with five blocks, while Carvalho had 19 digs.
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 3, B-CU 0
Ariel Simmons had five kills, and Nola Hemphill had 13 assists despite Bethune-Cookman dropping a 3-0 decision to George Washington in the Wildcats' second match of the day as part of the Owls Paradise Classic at Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton, Florida. The Revolutionaries took the match on scores of 25-23, 25-19, 25-15.
 
Bethune-Cookman (3-8) was held to a negative hitting percentage (-.024) in the match, as the Wildcat recorded just 20 kills against 22 errors, respectfully.
 
Simmons had three kills for the Cats in the opening set, as teammates Tiyanna Preston, Sierra Herndon and Shayla Henry each tallied two kills. Kaleigh Williams also had a pair of assisted blocks in the opening frame.
 
George Washington (6-5) led 23-22 before a bad set by the Revolutionaries' Amina Robinson knotted the frame, 23-23. After a timeout, GWU got a timely kill from Cayla Cogan, as well as an attack error to end the frame from B-CU to close out the 25-23 win.
 
The Cats would never secure a positive hitting percentage the rest of the way across the second or third set.
 
GWU was led offensively by Alexis Rodriguez with a match-high 19 kills and five digs. Setter Abby Markworth delivered 36 assists, while libero Lydia Zeng reeled in 15 digs.
 
B-CU turned towards the five kills from AJ Simmons in the match. Herndon finished with a team-high five blocks (assisted), while Naterah Moore and Williams accounted for four each.
 
Bethune-Cookman concludes the Owls Paradise Classic on Saturday against host FAU at 1 p.m.
 
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