TSU Volleyball Ends the Regular Season With a Win

Edwardsville, Illinois  - The Tennessee State volleyball team (17-13, 10-6 OVC) ended the regular season strong by defeating SIUE in four sets (25-27, 25-22, 25-20, 25-13).

Sherryce Butler and Rachel Ambroch each had 16 kills in the match to lead all attackers. Butler's total tied her career high that she set Oct. 12 at UT Martin.

TSU recorded 95 digs as a team, 19 higher than the squad's previous season-high. Naomi Wells and Britani Hathorn led the team with 28 and 25 digs, respectively. Well's 28 digs broke her previous season high by nine.

Setter Erika Moss tallied 52 assists in the match- her second 50-plus assist match in her last three tries.

SIUE (9-18, 5-11 OVC) jumped out to an early 3-1 lead when an attack from freshman Emilie Sandve Aase went long, but the Tigers came roaring back with a 4-0 run. Butler and Moss led the charge with a kill apiece, and freshman Jaime Cooper recorded her only service ace of the match.

SIUE came right back to tie the frame at six with a slam from Leslie Lindsey, but a 7-3 TSU run from there gave the Tigers a big lead at 13-9.

Tennessee State maintained its advantage for the better part of the set, but SIUE would eventually tie the score at 23 with an attack by Kelsey Augustine. Sensing the momentum shifting away from her side, TSU coach Kathy Rouhlac called time to talk things over.

The message was not received as SIUE ended the set on a 4-2 run to take the opening period.

The start of the second set was just as close as the ending of the first, as a kill from Butler tied the score at six a side.

Back-to-back points from Ambroch later in the frame put TSU up 12-8, prompting a timeout from the home team. Ambroch's second point of the run was one of Ambroch's four service aces in the match.

Freshman Linday Hornsby had a slam following the timeout, but SIUE rebounded to make the score 13-13.

The score was still tied at 22 each when Ambroch had a pair of points and Hornsby recorded another kill to tie the match at one set apiece.

With the score tied at five early in the third frame, the Tigers went on a 5-0 run highlighted by three kills from Butler.

The run proved to be too much for the Cougars, as they could never get within one of the lead and TSU hung on for a five-point set victory.

With two straight set wins, TSU carried over its strong play in the third set, starting on an 8-2 run. Butler and Aase led the charge with two kills each.

The Tigers extended their advantage to eight when SIUE committed two errors, causing SIUE to use its second timeout of the set.

The stoppage did nothing to stop the TSU run, as the Tigers eventually went up 20-10 when Hornsby connected on an attempt.

Hornsby finished the match third on the team in kills with 14.

Freshman Shawneis Jones recorded her first career kill to make the score 24-12, and Wells ended the match two-points later with a kill assisted by Moss.

TSU hit .270 during the final set and held SIUE to a -.105 line.

By virtue of its win, TSU earned the five-seed in the OVC Conference Tournament. This sets up a match against Austin Peay on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 4:30 p.m.

The match will be held in Morehead, Ky.

 

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Alexander's 3-pointer lifts Tuskegee past Spring Hill in Big Easy Classic

NEW ORLEANS -- David Alexander's 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining in overtime gave Tuskegee a 62-60 men's basketball victory against Spring Hill in the opening game of the Big Easy Classic at Xavier University of Louisiana's Convocation Center.

Xavier defeated Jarvis Christian 75-71 in the second game. Spring Hill will play Jarvis Christian at 2 p.m. Saturday, and Xavier will play Tuskegee at 4.

Alexander's 3-pointer, his only field-goal attempt of the game, came after Alex Looney's basket gave Spring Hill (0-3) a 60-59 lead with 49 seconds remaining. There were four lead changes in overtime, which the Badgers forced after Brett Williams' 3-pointer at the buzzer in regulation. That tied the score at 53.

Javier McKinney scored 13 points, Calvin Thomas 11 and Elliott Dean 10 for Tuskegee, which is counting both its games in this event as exhibitions. McKinney had five assists and four steals, one on Spring Hill's final possession. McKinney also passed to Alexander for the winning shot.

Looney and Williams scored 13 points apiece for Spring Hill, and Robert Gipson had 11. Looney missed three free throws in overtime.

Five times Tuskegee led by seven points, the latest at 25-18 after McKinney's 3-pointer at 18:35 of the second half. Spring Hill took its first lead, 36-35, on Gipson's basket at 9:29 and three times led by three points in the final nine minutes of regulation.

Tuskegee outshot Spring Hill 38.5 to 36.2 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Badgers 42-36. The Golden Tigers committed 17 turnovers and gained 22.


By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

XU Gold Rush rally late to defeat Jarvis Christian 75-71

NEW ORLEANS -- Renard Smith's free throw with 51 seconds remaining put Xavier University of Louisiana ahead to stay Friday in a 75-71 men's basketball victory against Jarvis Christian in the Big Easy Classic at XU's Convocation Center.

The Gold Rush are 3-0 for the 11th consecutive season. It was Jarvis Christian's opener.

Tuskegee defeated Spring Hill 62-60 in overtime in the opening game. Spring Hill will play Jarvis Christian at 2 p.m. Saturday, and Xavier will play Tuskegee at 4 p.m.

Smith's free throw gave Xavier a 72-71 lead. It was 74-71 after Wanto Joseph's two free throws with 26 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs' Roman Walker missed a 3-pointer which would've tied the score with seven seconds remaining.

Joseph scored 16 points and Anthony Simmons 14 for Xavier. Denzell Erves had 13 points and 12 rebounds -- his third consecutive double-double -- and Nick Haywood and RJ Daniels scored 11 points apiece. Smith had eight points.

Marcus O'Key scored 15 points, Walker 13 and EJ Freeman 10 for Jarvis Christian.

More on this game will be posted online at http://www.xula.edu/athletics/news/2012/1109b.html
By Ed Cassiere, SID
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

UL-LaFayette’s last-second shot sinks Southern

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  The season opener for Southern and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette came with some last minute fireworks Friday night at the F.G. Clark Activity Center. Unfortunately for The Lady Jaguars, they found themselves on the wrong end of a buzzer-beater, losing 71-69.

“It’s not the loss that bothers me, it’s how we played,” said Southern coach Sandy Pugh. “ULL played well. They ran their sets, they pushed the ball and got in the lane on us all night and they killed us at the end.”

Tied at 69 with nine seconds to go in the game, Southern’s Lechell Rush turned the ball over as Pugh desperately tried to call a timeout. The ball was picked up ULL’s Byronesha Santiago, she passed it up-court to Kia Wilridge who banked in a floater just as time expired, sinking the hearts of The Lady Jags and those in attendance.

“It was kind of helter-skelter with all of these new players we have on the floor but we played a good game,” said first-year ULL Coach Garry Brodhead. “I was pleased with the effort we gave.”

READ MORE

St. Bonaventure tops Bethune-Cookman 65-55

OLEANS, New York -- Demitrius Conger netted 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds as St. Bonaventure toppled Bethune-Cookman 65-55 in a nonconference affair in each team's season opener Friday night.

After letting the Wildcats cut a 29-25 halftime lead to 33-32, Conger and Matthew Wright hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Wright and Eric Mosley made layups to stretch St. Bonaventure's lead to 43-32.

After that, Bethune-Cookman only threatened briefly, cutting the Bonnies' lead to 55-49 with 2:25 to play. But a 3-pointer and a free throw by Mosley and then a dunk by Conger stifled Bethune-Cookman's charge. St. Bonaventure scored 21 points off turnovers to Bethune-Cookman's 5.

Prior to the game, St. Bonaventure raised banners honoring the team's first Atlantic 10 championship and its NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance from a year ago.




READ MORE

Bethune-Cookman clinches MEAC championship with win over Savannah State

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  --  Brian Jenkins received a Gatorade bath after his Bethune-Cookman Wildcats clinched their second Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship in three years.

But the workaholic coach was not ready to celebrate.

 

“It's not over,'' Jenkins said after B-CU dispatched Savannah State 49-7 Saturday evening in Savannah, Ga. “We still have some more football to play. We're just going to keep preparing and keep playing.''

 

The win, coupled with North Carolina Central's 22-21 loss to Florida A&M, guaranteed the Wildcats (8-2, 7-0) at least one extra game to play. They clinched the MEAC's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.

But first they have a date with arch-rival FAMU in the Florida Classic next Saturday in Orlando.

The Wildcats also advanced to the playoffs in 2010, Jenkins' first season at B-CU, when they finished in a three-way tie for first place in the conference. This year, with N.C. Central losing its second MEAC game, B-CU clinched the title outright.


READ MORE

Stillman Men's Basketball Preview: Strong showing against Alabama has Tigers confident

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama --  The season hasn't even officially started but Stillman College men's basketball team has already seen the best competition it'll face.

The Division II Tigers fell 76-68 to the University of Alabama on the road at Coleman Coliseum Tuesday night. They give the Crimson Tide, leading by as many as six points and one at the half before succumbing against their SEC opponent.

And while Stillman coach Michael Grant already figured his team might fare well in 2012-2013, it returns four starters from last year's team, three of whom were preseason All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference choices, it certainly adds to his confidence.

"I thought our guys really competed," Grant said. "They really respected their opponent but at the same time they knew that they wanted to come out and prove something---that they can play with anybody. That's what kind of team we have this year."

READ MORE