No. 2 Virginia State & No. 4 Bowie State to Host Regional Football Contests

Bulldogs Football to Host Delta State Statesmen in NCAA Super Region 2 Playoffs

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana  – The Bowie State University football team received good news on Sunday (11/12) evening after hearing the Bulldogs named announced for a berth into the NCAA Division II Super Region 2 playoffs. The Bulldogs (9-1) will host their first-ever home football playoff game and will face the Delta State Statesmen (8-3).

"We're really excited about the opportunity, even more excited to host and look forward to a very challenging and tough Delta State team", said an ecstatic Bowie State head coach Damon Wilson.

Bowie State's last appeared in NCAA regional play in 2015, falling on the road to Assumption by a score of 51-29.

The top seed West Alabama (10-0) will have a first-round bye. In other Super Region 2 matchups, #2 Virginia State (10-0) will host #7 West Georgia (8-3) and #4 Wingate (9-1) will host West Florida (7-3).

All games will be played on the host campus and will kickoff at 12 noon.

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The VSU Trojans are set to Host the West Georgia Wolves at 1pm on Saturday

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana  – The Virginia State University football team received good news on Sunday (11/12) evening after hearing the Trojans named announced for an appearance into the NCAA Division II Super Region 2 playoffs. The Trojans (10-0) will host their second home football playoff game and will face the University of West Georgia Wolves (8-3). Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 11.

"We're really excited about the opportunity, the guys have worked hard this entire season and look forward to welcoming the University of West Georgia team", said Virginia State head coach Reggie Barlow.

Virginia State's last appeared in NCAA regional play in 2014, winning against LIU-Post 28-17 in the first round. The Trojans then fell on the road to Bloomsburg by a score of 14-35.

The first-round dates, sites and pairings are:

DATE	AWAY TEAM	HOME TEAM	LOCATION
November 18	Findlay (9-2)	Shepherd (10-0)	Shepherdstown, West Virginia
November 18	California (Pa) (9-2)	Assumption (9-1)	Worcester, Massachusetts
November 18	West Chester (8-3)	Shippensburg (10-1)	Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
November 18	West Georgia (8-3)	Virginia State (9-0)	Petersburg, Virignia
November 18	West Florida (7-3)	Wingate (9-1)	Wingate, North Carolina
November 18	Delta State (8-3)	Bowie State (9-1)	Bowie, Maryland
November 18	Harding (8-3)	UIndy (11-0)	Indianapolis, Indiana
November 18	Northwest Missouri State (9-2)	Ashland (10-1)	Ashland, Ohio
November 18	Ouachita Baptist (9-2)	Ferris State (9-1)	Big Rapids, Michigan
November 18	Colorado State-Pueblo (9-2)	Minnesota State Mankato (11-0)	Mankato, Minnesota
November 18	Sioux Falls (9-2)	Midwestern State (9-0)	Wichita Falls, Texas
November 18	Texas A&M-Commerce (9-1)	Winona State (10-1)	Winona, Minnesota

The following institutions earned first-round byes in each super regional and will host a second-round game on November 25, 2017.

Super Regional One:

1. Indiana (Pennsylvania) (11-0)

Super Regional Two:

1. West Alabama (9-1)

Super Regional Three:

1. Fort Hays State (11-0)

Super Regional Four:

1. Central Washington (11-0)

All contests shall start at 1 p.m. local time. Other times may be established if approved by the committee.

Northwest Missouri State defeated North Alabama 29-3 in the 2016 national championship game to claim last year’s NCAA title.

The championship game will be played December 16, at 6 p.m. Eastern time at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas and will be broadcast live on ESPN2 HD/ESPN3.com.

For the most up-to-date information on VSU football, please visit www.govsutrojans.com and follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports.

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Virginia Union fires football coach Mark James

James will finish at the school with a 26-15 record, including a 6-4 mark this year.

RICHMOND, Virginia -- Virginia Union University has fired football coach Mark James, ending his four-year tenure at the school.

A school spokesman said no interim coach had been named, and the school aims to have a new coach in place as quickly as possible.

Panthers athletics director Joe Taylor thanked James in an e-mailed statement.

“We want to thank Coach James for his efforts in leading the Panther football program,” he said. “After serious discussions about the future of Virginia Union football, the decision was made that it’s time to move the program forward under new leadership.”

James, a former Union player and assistant coach, finished his rookie season with a 7-3 record, Union’s first winning season since 2009. In his second season, James led the Panthers to an 8-3 record, including a playoff berth. Union lost in the first round to Slippery Rock, 40-21.

James will finish at the school with a 26-15 record, including a 6-4 mark this year.

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MEAC math adds up to Celebration Bowl for North Carolina A&T Aggies

GREENSBORO, North Carolina — There has been no league-sanctioned announcement. And there’ remains one week left in MEAC football’s regular season.

But now hear this: N.C. A&T is going back to the Celebration Bowl.

Regardless of the results of this weekend’s games.

“I can’t make an official announcement. That comes from the conference office,” A&T Coach Rod Broadway said Monday. “But by the rules and the way the thing is drawn up, yes, we’re in.”

The Aggies will represent the MEAC and play the champion of the SWAC in the bowl game at noon Dec. 16 in Atlanta’s new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the NFL’s Falcons.

The MEAC’s own math says so.

The unbeaten Aggies (10-0, 7-0 MEAC) clinched at least a tie for the league title this past weekend with a victory over Savannah State. It’s the third title in four years for A&T, which can win that title outright by beating archrival N.C. Central (7-3, 5-2) on Saturday.



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Strong First Half Carries Norfolk State Women’s Basketball past Virginia Commonwealth in Season Opener, 66-52

RICHMOND, Virginia – Norfolk State women's basketball jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead then weathered a fourth-quarter comeback bid in its 66-52 season-opening road victory Sunday afternoon at VCU.

The season-opening win was the Spartan's first since a 60-51 result over Penn on Nov. 9, 2012.

The Spartans (1-0) feasted from beyond the three-point arc on Sunday, out-scoring the Rams (0-1) 33-9 on three-pointers. Norfolk State shot 11-26 (42.3 percent) from deep, while VCU made just three of its 12 treys. The 11 made threes are the fourth-most in program history.

Five different Spartans connected on long-range attempts, led by Alexys Long's career-high five makes from three. The junior wing ended the game with a career-best 17 points to pace NSU. Long also becomes the first Spartan to make five or more three-pointers since Rae Corbo (5) did so against Marshall on Dec. 16, 2014.

Norfolk State's interior defense was rugged against VCU, as the Spartans held the Rams to 12-39 shooting on two-pointers and blocked 14 shot attempts – the third most in program history. NSU has recorded 16 blocks on two occasions, last doing so on Feb. 5, 2007 against Bethune-Cookman.

Khadedra Croker loomed large in the paint in her Norfolk State debut. The Suffolk, Virginia native blocked seven shots on Sunday and grabbed five rebounds. Kendrea Dawkins also turned away four shots.

Norfolk State utilized three scoring runs to build its first-half lead. The Spartans scored the first eight points of the game, which prompted an early VCU timeout. Raven Russell scored four points in that opening run as part of a 13-point outing in her NSU debut.

Bria Gibson halted the Spartan run with a layup at the 6:34 mark of the first quarter, and the Rams countered with a 12-0 run of their own and led 12-8 with 1:32 left in the first.

However, VCU would not score again, as the Spartans accounted for the final eight points of the period.

Kayla Roberts pulled NSU to within a point with her first trey of the game at the 1:23 mark. Armani Franklin stripped Gibson on the Rams' next possession and laid the ball in to give the Spartans the lead again at 13-12. Roberts capped off the first quarter with another three with 27 seconds remaining.

The Rams out-shot the Spartans in the first quarter, but nine turnovers proved costly for VCU. For the game, Norfolk State scored 25 points off 27 turnovers by the Rams.

Norfolk State opened the second quarter with treys by Long and Zairya West. A made free throw by Shayla Tanner gave the Spartans a 23-13 lead – their first double-digit margin of the game.

From there, the Rams whittled the lead down to six points. Gibson's jumper made the score 23-17 with 4:50 left in the quarter, but Norfolk State promptly shut the door closed on VCU – scoring 12 of the half's final 13 points.

Newcomers accounted for all 12 of those points, as Russell and Franklin scored six points apiece. Russell made three free throws and connected on a three-pointer in that span. Franklin scored her points on three layups, two of which followed steals by the freshman guard.

With their perimeter shots not falling, VCU came out of the intermission intent on attacking the basket. The Rams shot just one three in the third quarter but went to the free-throw line 10 times in an attempt to close the gap.

The Rams pulled to within 12 points midway through the third period. Jailyn Maddox came out aggressively to start the second half and went to the line eight times in the first four-plus minutes of the quarter. Maddox made six of her eight free throws in that span and made the score 37-25.

Yet once again, VCU could not sustain its push, and the Spartans went on an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to build a 21-point cushion.

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The Spartans made three shots from long range during their third-quarter run. Russell keyed the surge with a trey at the 5:37 mark. Long followed with a three-pointer of her own on the next possession to bump the lead up to 43-27. Long made two free throws, and Alexis Sparkman made her first three as a Spartan to close out the run.

VCU worked furiously at a fourth-quarter comeback but came up short. The Rams out-scored the Spartans 19-14 in the final period but never saw the deficit shrink to fewer than 12 points.

Long put NSU ahead by 22 with just 3:48 remaining in the game, and that would be the Spartan's final field goal of the game. The Rams scored the next 10 points on the strength of seven points by Delphynia Sparks.

De'Janaire Deas made both free throw attempts with 13 seconds remaining to close out the game.

Maddox scored a game-high 18 points for the Rams. She made just two field goals but went 13-of-18 at the charity stripe. VCU attempted twice as many free throws as Norfolk State (31-14) and made eight more of them (19-11).

Franklin was the game's leading helper with seven assists. Roberts paced the Spartans with seven rebounds.

Sunday's result gives NSU an 8-6 edge over VCU in the all-time series. The Spartans snapped a three-game losing streak against the Rams. Norfolk State last defeated VCU 73-65 on Dec. 13, 1998.

Norfolk State returns to action on Friday with a road game against 2017 WNIT-qualifier Navy. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

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7th heaven! XULA rocks Dillard, rolls to another title

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana put the finishing touches on a perfect run through Gulf Coast Athletic Conference volleyball with a 25-20, 25-16, 25-13 victory Saturday against city rival Dillard in the championship final of the GCAC Tournament at SUNO's The Castle.

For the seventh consecutive season, the Gold Nuggets (23-2) won the league tournament and an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship. Nationals will begin next Saturday. The NAIA will announce Monday the 44-team field and pairings.

In 14 matches this year against GCAC opponents — 12 in the regular season, two in the tournament — XULA did not lose any sets. XULA is the first Louisiana or GCAC college to win every set against conference opponents.

The Gold Nuggets got double-doubles from their two primary hitters, both first-team All-GCAC players. Senior Juliana Tomasoni hit .346 and had 11 kills, 14 digs and two aces; freshman Kayla Black had 10 kills, 13 digs and two blocks.

Also contributing to the victory were Vivica Price-Spraggins with eight kills and a .538 hitting percentage, and Adili Rikondja and Lauryn Taylor with six kills apiece. Rikondja had four blocks, and Price-Spraggins and Hasani Salaam had two blocks apiece. Eva Le Guillou had 24 assists, and Tiffany Phillips had 17. Price-Spraggins, Taylor and Le Guillou are freshmen. Le Guillou is the GCAC Setter of the Year.

XULA's Anna Dalla Vecchia, the GCAC Freshman of the Year, had a match-high 18 digs, nine in the first set.

Shelby Stewart led Dillard (21-19) with eight kills and three blocks, but the GCAC Player and Attacker of the Year finished her career 0-6 against XULA. Stewart hit .150 against the Gold Nuggets, .257 against everyone else in her four seasons. Saturday she hit .103.

"We played a cleaner game than we did yesterday in the semifinals," first-year XULA coach Pat Kendrick said. "I thought we missed too many serves today, but other than that I thought we played with more energy today than yesterday."

Dillard led 4-1 in the first set, but XULA took the lead for good with seven consecutive points after a tie at 8. Rikondja and Taylor each had a kill and a block during the run. Two Price-Spraggins kills fueled a 6-0 run that gave XULA a 16-9 lead in the second set, and the Gold Nuggets dominated the final period after Tomasoni served back-to-back aces during a 7-1 opening run. Black ended the 70-minute match and secured her double-double with a kill after a Phillips set.

XULA outhit Dillard .266 to .038 and held advantages of 45-23 in kills, 4-0 in aces, 53-39 in digs and 7-4 in blocks. In three matches this season with the Lady Bleu Devils, XULA outhit them .258 to minus-.019 and had a 114-60 advantage in kills.

Kendrick won her ninth conference tournament championship as a head coach. She won eight Colonial Athletic Association tourney titles while at NCAA Division I George Mason, most recently in 2009. This was the 13th time a Kendrick-coached team reached a final.

The GCAC did not announce an all-tournament team or most valuable player. Tomasoni, the 2016 MVP, appeared to be a strong candidate this year after producing double-doubles in each of the final two rounds.

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Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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LSUA eliminates Nuggets in semifinals of XULA tourney

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Charlene Goreau and Yi Chen Pao lost semifinal singles matches to LSU-Alexandria Saturday in the XULA Fall Invitational at XULA Tennis Center.

Goreau, seeded first, was denied an opportunity to win her second singles title of the semester when LSUA's Alba Perny beat her 8-4. Pao fell 8-6 to the Generals' Laia Charles. The Perny-Charles final was not played.

Goreau and Pao were the No. 1 doubles seed and had a bye into the semifinals, but Perny and Charles defeated them 8-6. Perny and Charles defeated Koral Martinez and Nadia Ochsner of another New Orleans school, Loyola, 8-3 in the final.

Goreau and Pao won the doubles consolation title as a result of walkover victories in each of the last two rounds. Walkover victories are not counted in individual statistics.

Also not played was the singles consolation final between fourth-seeded Martinez and LSUA's third-seeded Miljana Melojevic. In the semifinals, Martinez upset William Carey's second-seeded Natalia Baliaeva 8-4, and Melojevic defeated Loyola's Miranda Cano 8-4.

The women-only event was XULA's fall finale. The Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush will play their first dual matches of 2018 in late January. The XULA men will seek a third consecutive appearance in the NAIA national finals; they finished second to Georgia Gwinnett in 2016 and 2017.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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South Carolina State Roll With Victory Over Hampton 33-15

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- Sophomore running back Labron Morris rushed for a game-high 134 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns to lead South Carolina State to a, 33-15, victory over Hampton Saturday (Nov. 11th) at Oliver. Dawson Stadium/Willie Jeffries Field.

South Carolina State held "Senior/Military Appreciation/Band Day" and made the most of the fans in attendance, honoring fifteen (15) Bulldogs who played their final home game in front or crowd of 9,000.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dewann Ford, Jr. had a solid day throwing finishing 13-of-27 for 180 yards and a touchdown, while Walk-on special team performer Colin Washington had a solid day returning kickoff and punts finishing with 125 All-purpose yards in the win.

"It's a little different feeling, getting a victory. I'm so happy we finally came out and won a football game, said head coach Buddy Pough. "I'm excited about it, and happy for our players.

Pough noted, "We are finally able to run the football, that was the difference and we also mixed some passes in. It was great that we got a win for our seniors who were playing their final game on this field."

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 16-0 lead with a safety at the 9:08 mark in the first quarter. Morris got on the board early with back-to-back touchdown runs of 3-yards and 1-yard. Senior kicker Tyler Scandrett push the lead to 19-0 on a 26-yard field goal to close out the first half.

Sophomore wide receiver De'Montrez Burroughs 4-yard touchdown catch from Ford move the Bulldogs head 26-0 at the 6:46 mark in the third quarter. Hampton got on the board with a 15-yard pass catch from Delmon Williams with 4:28 remaining in the quarter.

Yahkee Johnson pulled the Pirates within two scores on a 9-yard punch with 2:15 left in game. A two-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Travon Thomas with 0:18 seconds sealed the victory and snapped a three-game losing skid for the Bulldogs.

Redshirt sophomore Tra'Quan Dubose led the way for the receiving corps with five catches for 79-yards. The defense was led by redshirt senior All-American linebacker Darius Leonard with 8 tackles and two (2) sacks, while Dayshawn Taylor added six (6).

South Carolina State will close out the 2017 campaign on next Saturday (Nov. 18) on the road against Savannah State in the final game of the seasons. Kickoff is 1 p.m.

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