Volleyball sweeps Tougaloo College in GCAC opener
The Wiley College volleyball team broke through and got in the win column for the first time in 2023, sweeping Tougaloo College (25-19, 25-21, 25-20) in its Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opener Friday at Alumni Gymnasium.
The victory puts an end to a six-match losing streak dating back to last season's GCAC semifinals. The Lady Wildcats tie Dillard University for the lead in the GCAC as they are the only teams unbeaten in conference play. Southern University-New Orleans opens GCAC play on Saturday against Fisk.
Zykeya Hunt shared the team lead in kills with her teammate Rejinah Hickman at seven. She led the team with four blocks with three of them solo. Ashlee Traylor and Shyla Starks contributed five kills each. Kyra Woods recorded 13 assists and a team-high three service aces. Nadia Cortez led the team with 12 digs.
The Lady Wildcats (1-5, 1-0 GCAC) were outscored 27-25 in kills but hit a higher percentage at .086 – while holding Tougaloo College to a .080 hitting percentage. Wiley College was strong on the serve as it put down 11 aces and only made two errors. It gave up 11 aces but benefited from 10 service errors by the Lady Bulldogs.
In the first set, the Lady Wildcats took an early lead and never trailed. Tougaloo tied the set a few times. Two service aces by Woods and a kill by Starks put Wiley College ahead by five. After a timeout the Lady Bulldogs rallied to tie it at 19. Three kills by Hickman and two by Traylor sealed the Lady Wildcats' first opening set victory this season.
Wiley College built an early lead in the second set taking advantage of errors by the Lady Bulldogs. Once again after a timeout, Tougaloo rallied to tie the set. A kill by Hunt and a service ace by Kya Gray put Wiley College back in front by three. An ace by Cortez and a block by Johna Davis and Hunt increased the margin to five.
Tougaloo (0-7, 0-1 GCAC) grabbed its first lead in the third set and held as a high as a two-point advantage. A kill by Starks tied the set at 19. The Lady Wildcats took the lead on a kill by Hickman and an ace by Fatima Ortega. LeAndria Jackson sealed the match with an ace.
The Lady Wildcats will host Rust College at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Lady Bearcats surrendered a two-set lead against Philander Smith University for its second conference loss.
For more coverage on the Lady Wildcats visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/wvball/index
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