ORANGEBURG, S.C. — South Carolina State showed resilience and continued to battle Friday night, pushing Bethune-Cookman through four sets before falling 3-1 in women's volleyball action inside Dukes Gymnasium.
The Lady Bulldogs (3-10) dropped the opening two sets, 25-10 and 25-20, before responding with their strongest stretch of the night. SC State captured the third set 25-20 and nearly forced a decisive fifth set before Bethune-Cookman escaped with a 26-24 victory in the fourth. The match featured 17 ties and nine lead changes.
Despite the setback, SC State finished with
41 kills, 36 assists, 66 digs, 11 total team blocks and 11 service aces, providing several positives on both sides of the net. The Lady Bulldogs held an advantage over Bethune-Cookman in kills (41-40), assists (36-33), team blocks (11-9) and service aces (11-7).
Carra Pierre-Louis led the SC State attack with a match-high 12 kills while adding eight digs and two block assists.
Kenna Harris followed with nine kills, while
Amani Hawkins contributed six kills and a .167 hitting percentage.
Hedia Lewis added five kills on 19 attempts with only one error for a team-best .211 hitting percentage among Lady Bulldogs with double-digit attempts.
SC State also received solid production from its setters.
Arianna James handed out a team-high 20 assists, while
Kiyla Mighty added 12. Defensively,
Ki'ra Wright and
Jordan Dalland each recorded 15 digs, while
Chloe Neal finished with 11.
The Lady Bulldogs' ability to respond after falling behind two sets was one of the strongest takeaways from the match. SC State hit
.222 in the third set, recording 11 kills against only five errors on 27 attacks. The Bulldogs also sided out at a 55% rate and produced four team blocks in the frame on the way to the 25-20 victory.
SC State carried that fight into the fourth set. After falling behind 10-0, the Lady Bulldogs mounted a determined comeback, eventually pulling even at 12-12 and continuing to challenge Bethune-Cookman deep into the frame. SC State produced a match-best
14 kills in the fourth set, but the Wildcats held on for the narrow 26-24 decision to close the match.
Bethune-Cookman improved to 3-6 with the victory, while South Carolina State moved to 3-10. The contest lasted two hours and three minutes in front of an announced crowd of 200 at Dukes Gymnasium.
The two teams are scheduled to return to Dukes Gymnasium Saturday for the second match of the back-to-back series.
