HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — South Carolina State pushed Arkansas-Pine Bluff to the limit before falling in a tightly contested five-set volleyball match, 3-2, during tournament action at Elmore Gymnasium.
The Bulldogs (1-2) battled back after dropping the opening set and took a 2-1 advantage before Arkansas-Pine Bluff responded to win the final two frames. UAPB claimed the match by scores of 25-22, 23-25, 20-25, 25-23 and 15-10. The match featured 30 ties and 13 lead changes and lasted 2 hours, 8 minutes.
SC State showed its resilience after falling 25-22 in the opening set. The Bulldogs answered with a 25-23 victory in the second before producing their best offensive set of the match in the third. SC State hit .243 with 13 kills and just four attack errors in the third frame to take a 25-20 win and a 2-1 match advantage.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff responded in a back-and-forth fourth set. The teams combined for 14 ties and seven lead changes in the frame before UAPB escaped with a 25-23 victory to force a decisive fifth set.
The Golden Lions carried the momentum into the final frame and secured the match with a 15-10 win.
Kenna Harris paced the Bulldogs offensively with a match-high 15 kills while adding 11 digs and contributing to two blocks for 17.5 points.
Ki'ra Wright followed with 11 kills and a match-high 20 digs, while
Amani Hawkins added nine kills.
Hedia Lewis turned in one of SC State's most efficient offensive performances, finishing with eight kills on 23 attempts and a team-best .304 hitting percentage.
Setter
Macey McCoy directed the Bulldogs' attack with a match-high 32 assists to go along with four digs, two kills and a service ace.
Arianna James added 14 assists, while libero
Jordan Dalland collected 17 digs.
Chloe Neal contributed 10 digs as SC State finished with 73 digs as a team.
The Bulldogs also held an advantage in several statistical categories despite the setback. SC State finished with 54 kills compared with 45 for Arkansas-Pine Bluff and recorded 46 assists to UAPB's 40. Both teams totaled 73 digs, while the Golden Lions held an 8-7 edge in total blocks. SC State also produced 10 service aces compared with five for UAPB.
Ashanti Butler led Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 11 kills on a .455 hitting percentage, while Karli Glover added 10 kills. Kennedy Adams contributed eight kills and three total blocks.
The loss dropped South Carolina State to 1-2 on the season.
