LaDonna Trantham recorded 20 kills as Florida A&M defeated Mississippi Valley State 3-1 in Southwestern Athletic Conference women’s volleyball Friday, Oct. 2, at the Harrison HPER Complex in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Florida A&M won by set scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-11 and 25-14. The victory moved Florida A&M to 7-9 overall and 2-1 in SWAC play, while Mississippi Valley State fell to 1-12 and 0-4.
Florida A&M hit .292 as a team, compared with a .091 attack percentage for Mississippi Valley State, which committed 21 errors. The Rattlers took control after the second set by scoring 13 consecutive points in the third set. Florida A&M then used a six-point run in the fourth set to turn a 17-12 lead into a 23-12 advantage.
Florida A&M takes control after intermission
Florida A&M trailed 5-3 in the opening set before scoring six consecutive points. Sydney Whitfield and Farah Farooq combined for a block that tied the set at 5-5, and Florida A&M followed with four consecutive kills to move ahead 9-5. Bengisu Kazazlar later served two aces during a five-point run that extended the lead from 15-11 to 20-11.
Iyonnie Sanford added five kills without an error in the first set, which Florida A&M won 25-16. Mississippi Valley State answered in the second set, which featured nine ties. The Delta Devils built a 21-15 lead after scoring five straight points, and Florida A&M cut a 24-18 deficit to 24-22 before Kameryn Browne ended the set with a kill.
Mississippi Valley State led 4-2 early in the third set before Florida A&M scored 13 consecutive points. Trantham served for 12 points during the run, including two aces, while Mississippi Valley State had five attack errors and two bad sets during the surge. Florida A&M won the set 25-11.
Florida A&M led most of the fourth set and pulled away with six consecutive points after holding a 17-12 advantage. Kazazlar served during the run, and Farooq and Tamia Coleman combined for a block. Trantham had nine kills in the set while hitting .533, and Whitfield closed the match with a kill.
Trantham leads balanced attack
Trantham hit .486 on 37 swings with two errors and added two aces. It was her third match of the season with at least 20 kills and her first 20-kill match in SWAC play. Sanford finished with 13 kills while hitting .423, marking her third double-digit-kill match of the season.
Farooq recorded eight kills and a match-high three block assists. Whitfield contributed seven kills, three aces and 11 digs. Kazazlar had 21 assists and three aces, while Victoria Santana handled 26 serve receptions without an error.
Taylor Wooten led Mississippi Valley State with 10 kills, and Aubrie Walker added eight kills while hitting .375. Erin Mims recorded 13 assists for Mississippi Valley State. Florida A&M is scheduled to visit Jackson State on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 1 p.m. EDT, noon CDT, in Jackson, Mississippi, with the match streamed on SWAC TV.
FSB Take
Florida A&M’s response after the second set shaped the result. The 13-point third-set run and the six-point fourth-set surge created the separation behind Trantham’s attacking production and pressure from the service line. The Rattlers now take a 2-1 SWAC record into their scheduled match at Jackson State.
Source: Original report