BOSSIER CITY, La. – The championship match of the 2024 Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) Volleyball Championship is set. Top seed Talladega College and No. 2 seed Dillard University will battle for the title at noon on Wednesday.

NO. 1 TALLADEGA 3, NO. 4 PHILANDER SMITH 0   Boxscore
Talladega College volleyball players Franchesca Rivas and Josephine Gates provided double-digit kill performances to send the Tornadoes to the championship for the second consecutive season with a sweep over Philander Smith University (25-18, 25-22, 25-18).

Rivas recorded 15 kills in 38 attempts and added six digs and two block assists. Gates contributed 10 kills and eight total blocks. Giovana Costarelli nearly recorded a double-double with 19 assists and eight digs. Nuria Santos added 15 assists and six digs. Briyith Echeverri led all defenders with 21 digs.

Two kills by Re’na Ashley and a service ace by Stella Lukaszuk gave Talladega a five-point lead early in the first set and it didn’t relinquish it. The Tornadoes put down 15 kills in 36 attempts while Philander Smith had 10 but made eight attack errors in 37 attempts. Gates clinched the first set with a kill. Talladega did endure a scary moment as Kortni Johnson and Taquoia Rounds collided going after a ball and did not return to the game.

With Talladega having to shake up its rotation, Philander Smith got a jump on them in the second set. Zarea Winn got a kill and a block and Essence Wren got a kill to put the Panthers ahead 11-6. After a timeout, the Tornadoes regrouped. Gates, Ashley and Rivas got kills to cut the margin to 11-10.

Philander Smith called a timeout leading to another momentum shift. Two kills by Winn, one by Sanders and a pair of errors by Talladega gave the Panthers a 16-11 lead. The lead stayed intact until Ashley got a kill and Gates got a block to give Talladega a 21-20 lead. The Panthers tied it with an attack error by the Tornadoes. Rivas put down two kills and Gates one to take the set.

The Tornadoes took control of the third set with a five-point run. Rivas got a kill and Gates and Costarelli and Dyani Steward teamed up for three blocks to increase their advantage to 12-7. It lead by as many as eight. Winn got a kill and teamed up with Antonisha Whitney for a block to cut the margin to four. Kills by Rivas and Ashley and two attack errors by Philander Smith put the Tornadoes up by eight.

The Panthers finish the season 21-7. Sanders recorded 10 kills and seven digs. Winn notched eight kills, three digs and three total blocks. Wren posted a double-double with 23 assists and 18 digs. Christlove Lauture put up 12 digs.

NO. 2 DILLARD 3, NO. 3 FISK 0 Boxscore
Dillard University volleyball players Vanae Sapp recorded a double-double and Gabrielle Washington led a strong front row defense to lead the Bleu Devils to a sweep over Fisk University (25-19, 25-15, 25-18).

Along with a spot in the championship match the victory gives Dillard the conference’s second automatic berth to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Volleyball Championship Opening Round. Talladega gained the other automatic berth by winning the regular season title.

Sapp tallied 13 kills, 15 digs and five service aces. Cadence Thomas followed with eight kills in 19 attempts. Washington contributed to six blocks with two solo and put down five kills. The Bleu Devils blocked seven attacks from the Bulldogs and out-hit them .327 to .118. Dillard put down 42 kills and only made eight errors in 104 attack attempts. The Bulldogs recorded 32 kills but made 19 errors in 110 attempts.

The Bleu Devils (19-8) pulled out to a 10-1 lead in the first set and didn’t look back. Sapp recorded two kills and four service aces. Fisk didn’t get closer than five. Washington secured the first set with a kill. Dillard outhit Fisk .216 to .132 in the first set.

Fisk briefly held the lead in the second set on kills by Sydney Willis and Trinity Britt. Kills by Thomas, Sapp and Sara Da Silva opened a seven-point lead for Dillard. The Bulldogs didn’t have an answer. Kills by Thomas and Da Silva opened up a double-digit advantage for the Bleu Devils.

Sapp scored two kills and Nya St. Cyr one to give Dillard a four-point lead in the third set. The Bulldogs weren’t able to put more than two points together. Two kills by Neveah Bax and one from Thomas, put the Bleu Devils in striking distance of clinching the match. Thomas, Da Silva, St. Cyr and Sapp closed it out for Dillard, which is making their second appearance in the finals in the last three years.

Tyramae Fautanu recorded 19 assists and four digs. Nanyelis Moreno followed with 17 assists, five digs and two service aces. Trenity Pender and Jasmyne Mumphrey posted double-digit dig performances with 13 and 12, respectively.

Fisk finished the season 23-16. Willis led the attack with 13 kills. Reagan Jones followed with eight and contributed eight digs. Britt recorded a double-double with 23 assists and 14 digs. Nialah Gupton provided 14 digs and three assists.

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NEW ORLEANS – Fisk University volleyball player Reagan Jones headlines the All-Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference Teams as the 2024 Player of the Year, as the teams were announced by the conference on Friday. The teams and Player of the Year awards were determined by the conference’s head volleyball coaches. Jones led the HBCUAC with 422 kills and 3.46 per set. She ranks 14th in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in total kills. During the 12-week season, Jones garnered five Attacker of the Week awards. She recorded double-digit kills in 25 matches. Her 488 points leads the conference and is ninth in the nation. Along with earning Player of the Year, Jones was selected as Attacker and Newcomer of the Year.

Also representing Fisk on the first team was Trinity Britt, who led the HBCUAC with 990 assists and 8.25 per set, Nialah Gupton, the conference leader with 515 digs; and Sydney Willis, who leads the conference with 121 total blocks. La’Niyah Lumpkin and Laila Esters earned All-HBCUAC Second Team selections.

The two-time defending conference champion Talladega College also had a strong presence with seven selections, including the Defender of the Year Briyith Echeverri, and the Setter of the Year Giovana Costarelli. Echeverri ranked second in the conference with 447 digs. She was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year and a four-time Defender of the Week. Echeverri also recorded her 1,000th career dig. Costarelli set for the top attacking team in the conference with 11.72 kills per set. Her 5.23 assists per set ranked sixth in the conference. Costarelli surpassed 1,000 career assists and earned two Setter of the Week awards.

Joining Echeverri and Costarelli on the first team were Franchesca Rivas and Re’na Ashley. Kortni Johnson, Marcelly Perez, and Josephine Gates earned All-HBCUAC Second Team.

The runner-up Dillard University earned six selections, with three on the First Team. Cadence Thomas ranked third in the HBCUAC with a .311 hitting percentage. She ranked in the top 10 with 2.18 kills per set, 53 block assists, 61 total blocks, and 0.84 blocks per set. Vanae Sapp placed fourth in the conference with 2.51 kills per set and four points per set. She ranked in the top 10 with 198 kills, 6.96 attacks per set, and 2.90 digs per set. Sara Da Silva ranked eighth in the HBCUAC with a .249 hitting percentage. She ranked in the top 10 with 47 block assists and 0.77 blocks per set. Gabrielle Washington, Nanyelis Moreno, and Tyramae Fautanu earned All-HBCU Second Team.

Philander Smith University had two First Team selections with Zarea Winn and Essence Wren. Southern University at New Orleans earned one selection in Armoni Harris.

Ava Cameron of Stillman College earned Freshman of the Year and All-HBCUAC Second Team. She ranked third in the conference with 22 solo blocks and in the top 20 with 31 block assists, 53 total blocks, and 0.65 blocks per set.

Also earning Second Team selections were Kiah Rucker and Christlove Lauture from Philander Smith, Emily Powell from Stillman, Kaliyah Shavers from Tougaloo College, and Kamaria Murray from Oakwood University.

Oakwood’s Cameryn Bucknor, Wiley University’s Shyla Starks, SUNO’s Alaina Obianoze, and Tougaloo’s Ke’Ira Collier earned Honorable Mentions.

Fisk head coach Jessica Enderle earned HBCUAC Coach of the Year. She led the Lady Bulldogs to 22 wins and a 13-2 record in conference play. After finishing as tournament runner-up last season, Fisk contended for the regular season title until the final week of the regular season.

Talladega College’s Kyle Liechti won HBCUAC Assistant Coach of the Year. He helped head coach LaShaunda Spurgeon guide the Tornadoes to their second straight conference title and an automatic berth to the NAIA Volleyball Championship Opening Round.

The award winners will be honored during the 2024 HBCUAC Volleyball Championship reception on Sunday. Matches get underway on Monday at Bossier Parish Community College’s Billy Montgomery Gymnasium. The championship is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission.

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Individual Honors

Player of the Year: Emily Mohs, Thomas More, Sr.
Coach of the Year: Steve Wilcosky, Life

All-Southeast Sports Net Volleyball 2021

FIRST TEAM

OH – Sandy Cao, Southeastern, Fr.
OH – Giovanna Larragui-Lopez, Coastal Georgia, Jr.
OH – Emily Mohs, Thomas More, Sr.
OPP – Salma Gonzalez-Sosa, Campbellsville, Gr.
MB – Ingrid Ferrari, CIU, Jr.
MB – Leslie Flores, Bluefield, Jr.
S – Jessie Pritchard, Life, Gr.
S – Lily Witkoski, Ave Maria, Jr.
DS – Marin Black, Life, Sr.
DS – Allison Ruddick, Union, Sr.

SECOND TEAM

OH – Lily Chapman, Cumberlands, Jr.
OH – Mary Ellen Enright, Brenau, Jr.
OH – Lena Pucnik, Life, Jr.
OH – Saldy Amparo Smith, Edward Waters, Fr.
MB – Shayna Baugh, Union, Sr.
MB – Ella Maiden, Milligan, Fr.
MB – Radaisy Valdez, Lindsey Wilson, So.
S – Paige Merrick, Campbellsville, Sr.
S – Camryn Rich, Lindsey Wilson, Jr.
S – Aubry Whatcott, Bluefield, Sr.
DS – Bianci Grassi, St. Thomas, Fr.
DS – Melea Meadows, Mobile, Sr.

* The All-SESN Teams come from programs in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

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NAIA Volleyball Top 25

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NAIA Volleyball Top 25

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. –Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) John Sullivan announced Friday the addition of five new affiliate members and the addition of men’s volleyball as a championship sport for 2022-23.

The addition of the affiliate members allows the AAC to make men’s volleyball a championship sport and adds more schools in the sport of men’s wrestling.

The new affiliates come to the AAC as full members of The Sun Conference and the Southern States Athletic Conference.

“The commissioners from The Sun Conference, the Southern States Athletic Conference, and myself have been working on this agreement over the past year,” said Sullivan. “By adding these affiliate members, we are able to sponsor men’s volleyball as a conference sport and increase the number of teams sponsoring men’s wrestling to the advantage of all three conferences by reducing travel and missed class time. It also makes us one of the largest wrestling conferences in the country and moves men’s volleyball forward on the path to national championship status.”

The schools joining the AAC are:

• Life University (Ga.) – men’s volleyball and men’s wrestling;
• Webber International University (Fla.)* – men’s volleyball;
• Warner University (Fla.) – men’s volleyball;
• Brewton-Parker College (Ga.) – men’s wrestling;
• St. Thomas University (Fla.) – men’s wrestling;
• Keiser University (Fla.)* – men’s wrestling;
• Southeastern University (Fla.) – men’s wrestling.

*-Webber and Keiser are already affiliate members of the AAC in the sport of men’s lacrosse.

These institutions will join Bluefield, Columbia International, Reinhardt, St. Andrews, and Truett McConnell in men’s volleyball, and Bluefield, Montreat, Reinhardt, St. Andrews, Truett McConnell, and WVU Tech.

With the addition of men’s volleyball, the AAC will offer a total of 24 championship sports in 2022-23.

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NAIA Volleyball Top 25

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ATLANTA – Ajanae Cressey (Central State) was named Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, while Airyonna Weaver (Spring Hill) earned Defensive Player of the Week, released by the league office on Wednesday.

Keyara Brooks (Kentucky State) was also tabbed Setter of the Week alongside Shadiya Wilson (Miles) who earned Newcomer of the Week.

OFFENSIVE – Ajanae Cressey, Freshman, Outside Hitter, Central State

Central State University freshman Ajanae Cressey led the Marauder offense in the opening weekend of competition. In CSU’s 3-0 win over Kentucky State in a non-conference match on Friday, Cressey led the team with 10 kills. In the following match against Maryville, Cressey recorded 15 kills. In Saturday’s match against MEC favorite West Virginia State, she led the team with 9 kills. Cressey finished the weekend with a combined 34 kills and 36.5 points.

DEFENSIVE – Airyonna Weaver, Freshman, Middle Blocker, Spring Hill

As a true freshman, Weaver had 12 blocks (1-11) in four matches at the UWF Springhill Suites Invitational in Pensacola against teams all receiving votes in the DII AVCA Top 25. She also added 7 digs, 3 receptions, and 14 kills to her totals.

SETTER – Keyara Brooks, Freshman, Setter, Kentucky State

During KSU’s Invitational, Brooks led her team in assists (64) and added 16 kills to close out the invitational with a five-set win over Maryville, 3-2.

NEWCOMER – Shadiya Wilson, Freshman, Middle Blocker, Miles

In her first collegiate action, Wilson hit .226 over 14 games in four matches. She added 26 digs, three service aces, four assists, and three blocks (one solo). Her best match was against Rust, where she had 17 kills, 13 digs, two service aces and one block.

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NAIA Volleyball Top 25

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NAIA Volleyball Top 25

Dropped out: No. 7 Grand View, No. 20 Lindsey Wilson, No. 21 Reinhardt, No. 22. IU East, No. 23 Olivet Nazarene

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