Alabama State Volleyball Hands Alabama A&M 1st Conference Loss

First conference loss of 2018 for the Bulldogs; Lady Hornets clinch No. 2 seed

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama | The moment was never too big. Not for this Alabama State volleyball team. Despite relinquishing a two set lead, the Lady Hornets displayed an aura of calm amidst the chaos in the final set and gave Alabama A&M its first conference loss of 2018 with a dramatic five-set (25-19, 25-17, 25-27, 23-25, 15-8) victory in front of a raucous crowd at T.M. Elmore Gymnasium.

"We have been in these moments before and it didn't overwhelm our team tonight," Alabama State head coach Penny Lucas-White said. "There were some calls down the stretch that could have gone the other way and maybe we could have won in three or four sets, but, having to go to five, we came out really strong and made a statement. That statement is that this Alabama State team is who they are, and who they are is who they have always been. They are winners."

With one regular-season contest remaining, the Lady Hornets (18-17, 15-2 SWAC) are assured the No. 2 seed at the conference tournament while the Lady Bulldogs (20-13, 16-1) clinched the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed despite tonight's loss. This is due to the game differential tie-breaker. AAMU defeated ASU in four games during its victory earlier in the season, while ASU needed five games to beat AAMU tonight, rendering the result of the final regular season SWAC contest inconsequential to the final standings.

BOX SCORE

Junior Bayle' Bennett led the charge with 18 kills and five blocks and now has 902 career-kills. Taira Cottingham supplemented the Lady Hornets with a pivotal third hitter and put down 11-of-17 attacks (.471) in addition to four blocks. Krysta Medearis spiked home 15 attacks, Kori Kutsch grabbed another double-double (43 assists, 12 digs) and Alabama State dominated statistically, outhitting Alabama A&M (.289 - .171) and swatting 12 blocks to just four for the Bulldogs.

Both teams exchanged the lead multiple times in the opening frame as Payten Clark (seven total blocks) swatted back three Bulldogs' attacks and Cottingham put down three early kills to force a 10-10 tie. After falling behind 13-16, Lucas-White used a timeout that ignited a 5-0 run, with senior Candace Martin making her presence known, sandwiching a kill and block around an Alabama A&M error. Alabama State dominated the stanza from that point forward as Medearis capped the frame with an emphatic spike. The Lady Hornets outhit Alabama A&M .280 - .000 in the opener and amassed five blocks to the Bulldogs' one. Medearis (four kills), Cottingham (three) and Kutsch (10 assists) starred for Alabama State. The dropped set was the first for Alabama A&M in seven matches.

The Lady Hornets carried the momentum in to the initial stages of the second set, building a 14-9 lead behind a complete-team effort as numerous players got in on the action. Following a Maya Evans' service ace to trim the Lady Hornets' lead down to 19-17, Medearis hammered back-to-back kills to spark a thunderous 6-0 run to win the stanza, capped by two service aces from senior Kayla Torres. Alabama State once again dominated the stat sheet, hitting a stout .385 to the Bulldogs' .261. Medearis picked up four additional kills while Kutsch assisted on ten attacks. The Lady Hornets also committed just one service error and picked up four aces in the set.

Alabama A&M grabbed the opening point of a set for the first time in the third frame before the Lady Hornets built on an early 8-3 lead. The hosts would not go down without a fight, using a 7-1 run to regain the lead. Following a 13-12 Alabama A&M lead, tense moments followed with four lead changes and six ties as the teams edged to a 25-25 tie. The Lady Hornets lost a golden opportunity with the chance at set point on two occasions before dropping the match, 27-25. Bennett put down six kills in the stanza and for the first time the Bulldogs outhit Alabama State (.211 - .114).

An Alabama A&M error gave the Lady Hornets an early 3-2 lead in the fourth set; however, the advantage was short-lived when the Lady Bulldogs used two runs (5-0 and 4-1) to grab a 17-13 lead and force a Lady Hornets timeout. Bennett grabbed a late block and kill as Alabama State once again used their veteran moxie to force another Bulldogs' timeout at 21-23. Despite a heroic effort and outhitting Alabama A&M by .200 percentage points (.400 - .200), the Bulldogs won the set and overcame five blocks from a contingent of Lady Hornets.

Kutsch propelled a 5-0 run in the deciding fifth set to force an early timeout and Bennett and Medearis continued the onslaught with four points sandwiched around a Bulldogs' error, stretching the Lady Hornets lead out to 10-3. With a cool and loose confidence indicative of the entire match, Martin calmly spiked two late kills before an Alabama A&M error gave Alabama State the match.

The Lady Hornets will play their final regular-season conference match Monday, November 5, at Jackson State before closing out the season at home on November, 7 against Florida A&M.

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