HOUSTON – Fresh off a weekend in which the team picked up a pair of wins in North Carolina, Bethune-Cookman Volleyball travels to Houston, Texas this weekend to compete in the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament hosted by Houston Christian. The two-day event begins Friday, Sept. 5.
 
MATCH #4: Bethune-Cookman vs. Southern Miss Eagles
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 5, at 1:30 p.m. [ET]
WHERE: Sharp Gym (Houston, Texas)
LIVE STATS: Click Here
 
MATCH #5: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. St. Thomas (MN) Tommies
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 5, at 5 p.m. [ET]
WHERE: Sharp Gym (Houston, Texas)
LIVE STATS: Click Here
 
MATCH #6: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats at Houston Christian Huskies
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 6, at 3 p.m. [ET]
WHERE: Sharp Gym (Houston, Texas)
LIVE STATS: Click Here
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
▪ Houston Christian is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
▪ St. Thomas (MN) is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
▪ Southern Miss is not ranked in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll Top 25
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Bethune-Cookman Volleyball this year by following the Wildcats on all their social media platforms. You can follow @BCUVolleyball on Instagram and @BCUVolleyball on Twitter.
 
NEWS & NOTES
▪ Head Coach Brittany Williams collected her 100th career victory as a head coach last weekend in a 3-2 win over Elon on the road in North Carolina.
▪ The Wildcats went 2-1 at the Aggie/Phoenix Invitational co-hosted by Noth Carolina A&T and Elon, respectively, as B-CU took down Elon and Coppin State.
▪ With the 2-1 start to the campaign, it marks the first time B-CU has held a winning record after the first three matches of the season since 2016.
▪ Three different Wildcats accounted for 20-plus kills last weekend – Ariel Simmons (23), Amya Jennings (22) and Tiyanna Preston (22).
▪ Graduate transfer Sthefany Carvalho has been named SWAC Defensive Player of the Week for the period of September 3-9. The Brazilian reeled in 58 digs across three matches, averaging 4.83 digs per set. She held a .933 serve-receive mark as well. Offensively, Carvalho tallied four service aces and handed out seven assists.
▪ Freshman middle blocker Kaleigh Williams came up big along the front line last week. Williams finished the weekend with 16 kills and an average of 1.33 kills per set across three matches altogether. Defensively, she produced a team-high 18 blocks (17 assisted) to go along with six digs.
▪ Simmons led all attackers last week, registering 23 kills and averaging 1.92 kills per set from her middle blocker position on the court. Simmons was instrumental with nine blocks (seven assisted), adding two digs as well. In her first start of the campaign, the Doral Academy High product had 11 kills to lead all B-CU performers against the host Aggies of N.C. A&T.
▪ In what is her first season as the primary setter for the Wildcats, despite playing considerably in the absence of Alisha Callender midway through last season with a medical issue, sophomore setter Nola Hemphill was the catalyst for Bethune-Cookman with 64 assists (5.33 per set) and three kills last week. Defensively, the Alanta native tallied 20 digs. In the season-opener, Hemphill distributed a season-high 23 assists and grabbed four digs with a kill. A day later in a win from Coppin State, she tallied 20 assists and five digs. Later that day, the Jackson High alum produced 21 assists and 11 digs for her first double-double of the campaign
 
BCU VS. HOUSTON CHRISTIAN SERIES
▪ B-CU and Houston Christian have met three times previously, with the Huskies winning all three matches, respectfully.
▪ The last time the two teams faced off was in Houston on September 2, 2022, as HCU claimed a 3-1 victory.
▪ The teams also played each other in 2010 and '19, respectively, both being 3-0 decisions in favor of the Huskies.
▪ Bethune-Cookman and Houston Christian met in Fort Myers at Florida Gulf Coast for the 2010 contest.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
▪ Houston Christian enters the weekend with an 0-3 record after falling in all three matches last weekend as part of the Lobo Invitational hosted by New Mexico.
▪ The Huskies dropped 3-0 decisions to each of Northern Arizona, Manhattan and Mew Mexico, respectively.
▪ As a team, HCU is hitting at a .086 clip, while opponents have logged a .270 mark against them.
▪ Allana Archie (28) and Katy Barger (22) top the Huskies in kills, while setter Madison Hess (69) leads the squad in assists.
▪ Bianca Byerly is the leader in digs with 34 (3.78 per set), and Archie is the top blocker with eight on the campaign.
▪ Hess and Sa'Myah Medford each have seven blocks for the Huskies as well.
 
BCU VS. ST. THOMAS (MN) SERIES
▪ Bethune-Cookman and St. Thomas (MN) have never met before in the sport of volleyball.
 
SCOUTING THE TOMMIES
▪ St. Thomas dropped three close matches last weekend to open its season in Minneapolis, Minnesota, participating in the Golden Gopher Invitational hosted by Minnesota.
▪ Senior opposite Tezra Rudzitis earned her first career Summit League Offensive Player of the Week honor after turning in three consecutive double-digit kill matches, averaging 3.58 kills per set on a .305 attack percentage.
▪ St. Thomas battled No. 11 Minnesota to four sets in a 3-1 loss, marking the program's first-ever set victory against a nationally ranked opponent.
▪ The Tommies are led offensively by Rudzitis with 43 kills, followed by Ellie Gustafson (36) and Anya Schmidt (34).
▪ The setter for St. Thomas is Morgan Kealy who has a team-leading 105 assists through the first three matches.
▪ Ella Voegele leads the team in digs with 40, followed closely by Kealy (32).
 
BCU VS. SOUTHERN MISS SERIES
▪ Southern Mississippi won the only other meeting against Bethune-Cookman back in 2001.
▪ The Eagles collected a 3-0 victory from the Wildcats on November 7, 2001, in Troy, Alabama.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
▪ Southern Miss arrives to Houston with a 2-1 record after bookend wins last weekend at the Hatters Invitational hosted by Stetson in DeLand, Florida.
▪ The Eagles opened the weekend with a win over Lamar and closed with a defeat of host Stetson.
▪ A pair of players have registered 30-plus kills – Sadie McAda (35) and Brynn Botkin (31).
▪ The primary setter for the Eagles is Morgen Durgens with 74 assists, as teammate Gaby Zovko has amassed 27 in three matches.
▪ The libero for Southern Miss is Sunni Sheppard having picked up 54 digs (5.40 per set), while teammate McAda has 45 of her own for an average of 4.50 digs per set.
▪ The blocks are provided by Lillie Johnson and Zovko with seven apiece.
 
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CATS
2025 Record – 2-1 (.667) // 2025 SWAC Record – 0-0 (.000) // Last 5 Matches – 3-2 (.600) // Last 10 Matches – 6-4 (.600) // Last 15 Matches – 11-4 (.733) // With a 3-2 win over Elon in the last match, Bethune-Cookman Head Coach Brittany Williams collected her 100th career victory as a collegiate head coach.
 
UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman will host the annual Bash at the Beach inside Richard V. Moore Gymnasium in Daytona Beach, Florida, with the tournament taking place September 12 -13.
 
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