Bethune-Cookman University Athletics

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Despite a career-high 26 kills from Alaya Rhodes, the Wildcats were unable to overcome a 2-0 hole, dropping a tightly-contested contest to Florida A&M in four sets.
 

Bethune-Cookman (9-9, 5-3) stormed out in front during the first set, taking an 8-3 lead after back-to-back FAMU attack errors.

Florida A&M (12-9, 7-1) quickly answered with a 5-0 scoring run to tie the game, including two kills by Sydney Whitfield.

The Wildcats would retake the lead again before the Rattlers began to take over. After the game was tied at 12, FAMU would outscore B-CU 13-5 the rest of the way to win set one, holding the Wildcats to a .132 hitting percentage.

The second set was tightly contested early before both teams exchanged modest scoring runs. B-CU would put together a 6-2 burst to go ahead 13-12, aided by kills from Kaleigh Williams and Alaya Rhodes.

Following a tied game at 14 apiece, the Rattlers again came up with the run they needed to effectively put the set on ice. The Wildcats attempted to rally late to no avail, as the Rattlers would take set two by a three-point margin.

The third set was the Wildcats' strongest statistical performance of the night as they outhit the Rattlers .419 to .229. 

B-CU grabbed an early 6-3 lead and would not trail again the rest of the way. Florida A&M kept the score close but were unable to overcome the deficit. The Wildcats won 25-23 to force a fourth set.

Both teams struggled offensively in the fourth set, as each team hit under .200 overall.

The Rattlers jumped out to a 4-0, but B-CU answered with a furious 7-1 run to make it 7-5. Rhodes along with Leila Hargrove recorded kills during the stretch.

After three straight points from Florida A&M, the Wildcats scored five straight to push the lead back to four.

The Rattlers then slowly clawed its way back, eventually taking a 21-20 lead late. The advantage was then pushed to three before B-CU fought to stay alive.

With a narrow 23-22 lead, Florida A&M picked up clutch kills from Iyonnie Sanford and Farah Farooq, to hold off the Wildcats' rally and win the match 3-1.

• The loss overshadowed another brilliant performance by Alaya Rhodes. Her 26-kill, 16-dig stat line was her ninth double-double of the year.
• Kylynn White and Nola Hemphill each had 22 assists for the Wildcats.
• Bethune-Cookman generated a season-high 15 total blocks in the loss. Kaleigh Williams led the way with six block assists.
• Sienna Lawrence and Kaycee Pennie each had two block solos and four block assists.
• The Wildcats outhit the Rattlers overall .241 to .237.
• LaDonna Trantham led Florida A&M with 25 kills and 14 digs.