Volleyball Closes Out SWAC Cluster

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – TSU closed out its first SWAC Volleyball Cluster of the year with a 3-1 loss to Bethune-Cookman on Monday.

Four aces by Thalia Cordero-Moreno sparked an 8-0 first set run for a 14-5 TSU lead. TSU kept the pressure on as they upped the lead to 19-7. B-CU went on a tear and cut the gap to 23-18 after an 11-4 run but a Chenise Cook kill followed by a B-CU attack error gave TSU a 25-18 win.

TSU was ahead 9-8 until a 5-0 B-CU run swung the lead back to the Wildcats. TSU regrouped and used two Brea Rutledge kills to tie it at 13-all but B-CU responded with an 8-1 run to lead 20-14. Three straight attack errors from B-CU narrowed its lead to 20-17 but they scored three of the next four for a 23-18 margin. TSU made it interesting as they fought back for a 24-22 margin but the Wildcats scored a kill to win 25-22.

Game three was a game of runs as B-CU claimed 12-11 lead before embarking on a 6-1 run to lead to 19-13. Both teams traded points from that point until a late TSU drew them to within 24-20 before a B-CU point ended the set.
Set four started out with an 11-10 B-CU lead as they would never relinquish the lead after outscoring TSU 14-4 for a 25-14 win.

Danielle Lilley led TSU with nine kills and eight digs while Cook and Rutledge had seven kills. Dallas Balanay-Flores led TSU with 28 assists.

TSU is back on action on Sunday at Alcorn State at 1 p.m. in Lorman, Miss.