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Desire Waller

Volleyball

SC State Women’s Volleyball Team Shows Improvement on Day Two of 49er Invitational

Desire Waller Earns Third All-Tournament Honor of the Season

Sr., Desire Waller was named to the 49er Invitational All-Tournament Team
Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Charlotte, N.C.— The SC State women's volleyball team continued to show improvement but fell short on the final day of the 49er Invitational which was hosted by UNC-Charlotte. Senior Desire Waller earned her third all-tournament team honor of the season.

In their first match of the day, SC State fell to Elon, 3-0, (19-25, 11-25, 18-25). The Lady Bulldogs were led by Waller with eight kills and 10 digs. Senior Taylor Bailey had three service aces while sophomore Melanie Williams put up 15 set assists in the match. Elon was led by Kris Harris with a match-high 12 kills. The Phoenix had two players to finish with double-digit digs as Maggie Reichard and Cali Estes picked up 11 and 10, respectively.

SC State opened the match very aggressive, winning the first six-of-nine points to take the 6-3 advantage. Elon would win the next point but then commit a service error to give the ball back to the Lady Bulldogs. After the error, Bailey served six straight points to give SC State the 13-5 lead. The Phoenix used a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to four, 14-10, and force SC State into a timeout. Out of the timeout, Elon scored the next 9-of-10 points to take the 15-19 lead and never looked back. The Phoenix closed the set on a 6-4 run en route to the 19-25 set one win.

Elon maintained the momentum heading into set two. The Phoenix jumped ahead 6-2, before three straight points by SC State cut the lead to one, 6-5, but that would be the closest the Lady Bulldogs would get in the set. Elon managed to push its lead to 11-5 off a 5-0 run. After allowing the next two points by SC State, the Phoenix would score the next six to take its lead to 17-7, before going on to win set two 25-11 and take the two set lead in the match.

SC State won the first two points to start set three but then the Elon's offense once again took control. The Phoenix scored the next six points to take the 6-2 lead. The Lady Bulldogs cut the deficit to two, 6-4, and stayed within a two-point range until late in the set. SC State came as close as one point, 15-14, before the Phoenix used a 10-3 run to close the set at 25-18 and win the match 3-0.

In its second match of the day, SC State battled Tennessee State from start to finish. The Tigers would come out victorious, winning the match, 3-0, (23-25, 20-25, 18-25).

In set one the teams exchanged side-outs over the first 10 points. Tennessee State then used a 3-0 run to take the 8-5 lead and early control of the set. The Tigers pushed its lead to seven, 17-10, before the Lady Bulldogs offense came to life. SC State used an 8-2 run of their own to cut the deficit to one, 19-18, and an overall 12-5 run to tie the set at 22-22. The teams once again exchanged side-outs before the Tigers scored the final two points to win the set, 25-23.

Tennessee State took the early 7-4 lead at the start of set two. SC State cut the lead to one, 7-6, but the Tigers quickly regained control. Tennessee State pushed its lead to four, 11-7, the margin they would maintain until late in the set. SC State did manage to cut the deficit to one, 20-19, but could not get over the hump, eventually falling in set two, 25-20.

SC State's offense appeared to regain its aggression to start set three, forcing Tennessee State into yet another back-and-forth set early. The Tigers offensive picked up after the 16th point of the set as they used an 8-2 run to take a six point lead, 16-10, and never to relinquish it. Tennessee State owned its biggest lead of the set, eight points, 21-13, before going on to win set three by seven 25-18 and the match, 3-0.

Waller once again led the way for SC State, recording a double-double, 13 kills-10 digs. Freshman Victoria Ferguson picked up 12 digs for the Lady Bulldogs who dropped to 0-13 on the season.

Tennessee State had two players to record double-digit kills as Naomi Wells put down 14 and Sherryce Butler had 10 on the day. Ileanushka Maldanado had 15 digs and Taylor Swayzer had 14 digs for the Tigers who improved to 3-7.

SC State will open Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play next weekend, Friday and Sunday, Sept. 27 and 29, when they host Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M, respectively. Friday's match is set for a 7 p.m. first serve while Sunday's contest is set for a 3 p.m. start.
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