HOUSTON – Participating in the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament hosted by Houston Christian, Bethune-Cookman Volleyball dropped a pair of 3-1 decisions Friday at Sharp Gym in Houston, Texas. The Wildcats fell in their opening match to Southern Miss, before returning to the court in a setback to St. Thomas (Minn.) for the nightcap.
 
SOUTHERN MISS 3, B-CU 1
Neveah Donahoe led all Bethune-Cookman players with nine kills Friday afternoon as the Wildcats dropped a 3-1 decision to Southern Miss in the opening match of the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament hosted by Houston Christian inside Sharp Gym in Houston, Texas. The Golden Eagles won the match on scores of 25-20, 17-25, 25-17, 25-16.
 
Southern Miss (3-1) overcame an early deficit and pulled away late to defeat Bethune-Cookman 25-20 in the opening set. The Golden Eagles trailed 16-14 after Bethune-Cookman's Rylee Davis served an ace, prompting a Southern Miss timeout. But USM responded with an 11-4 run to close the set, taking control with kills from Sadie McAda and Elly Stewart down the stretch.
 
The set featured eight lead changes and five ties, with neither team able to establish early control.
 
B-CU (2-2) jumped ahead 16-14 behind a balanced attack from freshman middle blocker Kaleigh Williams, sophomore outside hitter Amya Jennings and senior middle blocker Sierra Herndon, respectively.
 
The turning point came when Southern Miss libero Sunni Sheppard took over serving duties midway through the frame. The Golden Eagles scored four consecutive points, with kills from McAda and Johnson giving them an 18-16 lead they would not relinquish. Southern Miss pulled away behind net play from Brynn Botkin, who recorded three kills in the final stretch despite finishing with five attack errors.
 
The Wildcats jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the second set behind kills from Herndon and senior outside hitter Tiyanna Preston, both assisted by sophomore setter Nola Hemphill. USM briefly responded with back-to-back kills from McAda to tie the set at 6-6.
 
The turning point came midway through the set when Bethune-Cookman embarked on a crucial 8-2 run, transforming a 10-10 deadlock into an 18-12 advantage. During this stretch, the Wildcats benefited from multiple Golden Eagles attack errors and strong play from their bench players, including senior outside hitter Mecca Freeman and freshman setter Melissa Gonzalez. The Cats closed out the set with a 3-0 run capped by senior opposite Ariel Simmons' decisive kill.
 
The third set saw the Golden Eagles reclaim the match advantage with a 25-17 win.
 
Southern Miss would tally a match-high 17 kills in the frame, using five from McAda, who finished the set with a .500 attack mark, respectfully. With B-CU trailing 12-9 early-on, two Golden Eagles attack errors bookended a Preston kill to bring the Maroon and Gold back within 13-12. However, USM would finish on a 12-5 run, thanks largely in part to kills from Botkin and McAda, mixed with a timely Lillie Johnson kill to complete the set win.
 
The Cats were held to their lowest hitting percentage of the match in the fourth set, attacking at just a .100 mark and limited to a match-low six kills by the USM defense in the process. Southern Miss countered with a match-high .387 hitting clip, using 15 kills on 31 swings.
 
McAda provided five kills in the frame, as USM held a 12-6 lead midway through.
 
Back-to-back errors on the Golden Eagles was matched with kills from B-CU's duo of Herndon and Donahoe, as well as a Hemphill service ace, allowing the Cats to pull within 15-14. The two sides traded points until a 6-0 run closed the set and match, sparked by three service aces from USM's Kaylee Lowther.
 
Southern Miss was led offensively by McAda's 21-kill performance, followed in double-digits by Botkin and Stewart with 10 apiece. Setter Morgen Durgens provided a match-high 42 assists, while McAda completed her double-double with a match-best 19 digs.
 
For Bethune-Cookman, it was Donahoe charging ahead with nine kills and 13 digs. Herndon added eight kills and four blocks (three assisted). Hemphill handed out 15 assists, while teammate Sthefany Carvalho was instrumental on defense with 12 digs of her own.
 
ST. THOMAS (MN) 3, B-CU 1
Bethune-Cookman Volleyball received 10 kills from Tiyanna Preston Friday evening as the Wildcats dropped the second of two matches played inside Sharp Gym on the campus of Houston Christian as part of the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament in Houston, Texas, falling to St. Thomas (Minn) by a 3-1 count. Bethune-Cookman fell in 25-27, 25-19, 10-25, 22-25 fashion on the night.
 
St. Thomas trailed 25-24 after Bethune-Cookman's Amya Jennings, a native of Minnesota, returned to the match to promptly deliver a service ace. But the Tommies' Morgan Kealy served an ace of her own to tie the match at 25-all, allowing Tezra Rudzitis to put away a kill from a Kealy assist to give their side a 26-25 advantage. Anya Schmidt sealed the set with a service ace that found the floor untouched.
 
Rudzitis led St. Thomas with eight kills on 13 attempts for a .615 attack percentage, while Schmidt added six kills of her own. For Bethune-Cookman (2-3), junior transfer Neveah Donahoe paced the offense with four kills in the opener. The Wildcats managed a team match-best .417 team hitting percentage on 21 kills in 36 attempts.
 
The set's momentum shifted multiple times in the final stretch.
 
After Bethune-Cookman took a 24-22 lead, St. Thomas scored three of the next four points to tie it at 25 -25 behind kills from Schmidt, respectfully. Williams delivered a kill to knot the set at 25-all, before a Rudzitis kill was immediately followed by a Schmidt service ace to close out the opening set win for the Tommies.
 
B-CU would tie the match at 1-1 in the second set, storming back from an early deficit to capture the 25-19 win.
 
The Wildcats found themselves trailing 4-3 in the early going as Schmidt and Ellie Gustafson connected on kills from Kealy. However, the Wildcats' shifted the tide when Freeman placed a kill to push the Cats in front, 7-6. That allowed Williams to serve six consecutive points for the Maroon and Gold, advancing the lead at 13-6 in the process. The B-CU lead would swell to as many as 18-11 when Preston used a Hemphill cross-court pass to record a kill.
 
The Tommies did start a mini-comeback thanks in part to Schmidt and Gustafson, getting their side to within 22-19 after another Schmidt kill down the line. But the Cats would hold firm and receive back-to-back attack errors from the Tommies to close the 25-19 win.
 
St. Thomas sprinted to a 9-1 lead in the third set, never looking back en route to a decisive 25-10 win a frame that saw the Wildcats hit just .037 as a team – and collect just six kills against five (5) attack errors.
 
In the fourth set, a Freeman block of Schmidt evened the score at 6-6.
 
But a 12-4 run ensued for the Tommies using Rudzitis and Gustafson during the stretch, advancing the St. Thomas advantage to an insurmountable 18-10 lead. St. Thomas got six kills from Megan Wetter in the final frame, as she sparked her side with a .667 hitting percentage.
 
St. Thomas was led four players in double-figures for kills, flashed at the top by Wetter with a match-high 17. Behind her was Rudzitis (16), followed by Gustafson (14) and Schmidt (13). Kealy concluded with 46 assists and 10 digs for a double-double performance.
 
For Bethune-Cookman, it was Preston leading all players with 10 kills and a .450 hitting mark in the match. She also had five digs and an assisted block for the Wildcats. Freeman turned in eight kills and four blocks, while Donahoe added eight kills and six digs. Rylee Davis had 15 digs from her defensive specialist position on the court.
 
The Cats conclude the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament on Saturday with a match against host Houston Christian at 3 p.m. (EST).
 
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