DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Volleyball begins this weekend as Bethune-Cookman welcomes Mississippi Valley State and Jackson State to Richard V. Moore Gymnasium for a pair of weekend matches beginning Friday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m.
 
MATCH #13: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. Mississippi Valley State Delta Devilettes
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Richard V. Moore Gymnasium (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
WATCH: CatEye Network
LIVE STATS: Click Here
 
MATCH #14: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. Jackson State Tigers
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 28, at 1 p.m.
WHERE: Richard V. Moore Gymnasium (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
WATCH: CatEye Network
LIVE STATS: Click Here
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
▪ Mississippi Valley State is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
▪ Jackson State is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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NEWS & NOTES
▪ The Wildcats are looking to snap a five-match skid coming into the weekend.
▪ Senior opposite Ariel "AJ" Simmons has 325 kills and 136 blocks coming into the weekend for the Wildcats.
▪ Bethune-Cookman is hitting .144 as a team, with 455 kills across the campaign.
▪ Tiyanna Preston leads the team with 84 kills, as Simmons is behind her with 83 kills.
▪ In the two-setter Brittany Williams system, sophomore Nola Hemphill has registered a team-high 217 assists (4.93 a/s), while freshman Melissa Gonzalez has 138 assists (3.14 a/s).
▪ Graduate transfer Sthefany Carvalho leads the Wildcats with 198 digs (4.50 dig/s), closing in on becoming the fastest to 200 digs since B-CU joined the SWAC.
▪ Freshman middle blocker Kaleigh Williams has placed 59 blocks (52 assisted) in just 44 sets, averaging 1.34 blocks per set across the campaign.
▪ Senior Mecca Freeman has 26 blocks (24 assisted), while Sierra Herndon (21) and Simmons (20) also have 20-plus blocks for the Maroon and Gold.
 
BCU VS. MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE SERIES
▪ Bethune-Cookman is a perfect 8-0 all-time against Mississippi Valley State, with all but one match taking place since the Wildcats became members of the SWAC.
▪ The Wildcats took the only meeting last year by a 3-0 count in Itta Bena, Mississippi.
▪ All but two (2) matches have been 3-0 sweeps for the Maroon and Gold.
▪ The series began in 2009 in Montgomery, Alabama at a tournament hosted by Alabama State.
 
SCOUTING THE DELTA DEVILETTES
▪ Mississippi Valley State has enjoyed one of their best starts to a volleyball campaign in recent memory, as the Delta Devilettes arrive to Daytona Beach with a 3-9 overall record.
▪ MVSU has taken wins from Tougaloo, Southern University – New Orleans and Rust, respectively.
▪ Last weekend, the Delta Devilettes went 0-3 as part of the Fisk-Tri Match held in Nashville, Tennessee.
▪ Alaya Rhodes is the team leader in kills (56), as she is followed by Lyric Edwards (44) in that department.
▪ Leticia Franco is the top setter in the two-set system leading the team with 105 assists, while teammate Carrington Archer owns 102 assists.
▪ Marian Franco has a team-high 55 digs, followed closely by Dashaun Pinesette (47), Leticia Franco (46) and Rhodes (46).
 
BCU VS. JACKSON STATE SERIES
▪ Jackson State holds a 7-4 edge all-time in the series against Bethune-Cookman.
▪ The Tigers have won the last four in the series since 2023.
▪ B-CU won the first two meetings in 1998, 2003 and 2018, respectfully.
▪ Since joining the SWAC, the Wildcats are just 1-7 against the Tigers, with the last win being a 3-1 decision in Tallahassee, Florida in 2022.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
▪ Under the direction of second-year head coach Marcus Hereford, the Tigers arrive to the "Sunshine State" sporting a 1-9 overall record, as they visit Florida A&M to begin the weekend.
▪ Jackson State earned its first win last weekend with a sweep of Northwestern State in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
▪ To begin the year, the Tigers have faced teams such as Auburn, Troy, Houston Christian and Southern Miss, respectively.
▪ As a team, the Tigers are hitting just .178, while opponents are staking a .185 attack percentage against them.
▪ Hope Briggs tops the squad in kills with 100, as Jayden James is second just behind her with 99 under her belt.
▪ The primary setter for the Tigers is returning letterwinner Karys Dove as she holds a team-high 164 assists (4.82 a/s). The secondary setter is Naija Gadis with 126 assists (3.71 a/s).
▪ Defensively, Kymorah Carter owns 102 digs (3.00 dig/s), and Dove has a team-most 28 blocks (23 assisted). Briggs also has 24 blocks (24 assisted).
 
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CATS
2025 Record – 3-9 (.250) // 2025 SWAC Record – 0-0 (.000) // Last 5 Matches – 0-5 (.000) // Last 10 Matches – 2-8 (.200) // Last 15 Matches – 3-12 (.200) // Brittany Williams and the Cats have won 32 SWAC matches all-time coming into the weekend.
 
UP NEXT
B-CU takes to the road to face off against Alabama A&M and Alabama State next weekend, beginning with a trip to Huntsville, Alabama to face the Bulldogs on Friday, October 3.
 
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