Volleyball Falls In Tough Matches To Alabama State, Florida A&M
GRAMBLING, La. – Texas Southern had a pair of tough matches against Alabama State and Florida A&M which came down to the wire as they concluded the first day of the SWAC Cluster at Grambling State.
ALABAMA STATE 3, TSU 0
TSU dropped a 3-0 decision in its cluster opener to Alabama State on Saturday.
TSU was down 9-6 in the opening set before ASU upped the lead to 17-9. TSU closed to within 18-12 after a Janiya Chapman kill but that would be the closest they would get as ASU won 25-16.
Set two was tight from the opening serve as TSU broke open a 12-all tie with a 10-4 run to lead 22-16 after kills from Thalia Cordero Moreno and Chenise Cook. However, the lead would disappear as ASU answered with an 8-2 run to force extra points. TSU would move ahead 25-24 but ASU tied it at 25-all after a TSU attack error. TSU moved back ahead 26-25 after Kaitlyn Scroggins’ kill but ASU managed to knot it at 26-all after a kill before closing out the set with back-to-back TSU errors as they won 28-26.
ASU led 7-6 early in set three but created separation as they led 15-7 after an 8-1 surge. TSU would fight back and get within 16-13 after a spirited run but Alabama State took advantage of six TSU errors to close out the match.
Thalia Cordero Moreno led TSU with nine kills while Aeris Ramsey had 16 assists. Kaitlyn Scroggins and Danielle Lilley both had seven digs defensively.
FLORIDA A&M 3, TSU 2
TSU’s contest against FAMU was a heartbreaker as FAMU rallied from a 2-0 deficit to claim a 3-2 win Saturday afternoon.
TSU broke open set one as they turned a 13-all tie into a 21-14 lead following an 8-1 run. FAMU would draw within 22-18 but TSU closed out strong as they forced two FAMU attack errors followed by an ace from Scroggins and Erianna Murray kill to win 25-20.
The Tigers put forth a solid effort in set two as every point was important down the stretch as there were 14 ties in the set. With the set tied at 25-all, FAMU committed a service error and TSU closed out the set with a big point as Cordero Moreno logged a kill for a 27-25 win.
FAMU would get back in the match as they broke open set three with a big run to win 25-17. In set four, it was 16-14 FAMU and TSU couldn’t match point-for-point from that stretch as the Rattlers closed out the set with a 9-2 run to win 25-16 and force a deciding set.
The final set was a mirror image of the previous two as it went down to the wire with multiple lead changes. TSU was up 13-10 after a Chapman kill but FAMU scored four straight to move ahead 14-13. Erianna Murray tied it at 14-all after a kill and both teams kept battling as they traded points for a 15-all tie. The match would come down to errors unfortunately as TSU committed a service and attack error which allowed FAMU to win the match 3-2.
Cordero Moreno led TSU with 14 kills followed by 12 from Lilley. Ramsey had 17 assists while Dallas Balanay-Flores recorded 12 assists from the setter position. Scroggins led the way defensively with 17 digs along with 15 from both Ramsey and Lilley.
TSU is back in action Sunday against Bethune-Cookman at 11 a.m.
Courtesy: TSUSports.com
