LORMAN, Miss. --- The Mississippi College volleyball team split a pair of matches at Alcorn State University on Wednesday evening. MC (9-11) toppled Tougaloo, 3-1, in the opening match of the day, but fell in four sets to the host Lady Braves in the final match.
TOUGALOO NOTES
Ashton King led MC with 12 kills – one off her career-best set against Auburn Montgomery earlier this season. The Collierville, Tenn., native notched her first, career double-double with 16 digs.
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Hannah Rue tied a season-high with eight kills while
Gracie Liljenquist posted a season-high with nine kills.
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Sydney Chandler and
Amanda Torres combined for 45 of the Lady Choctaws 53 assists in the match. Chandler led the team with 23 while Torres added 22.
Tessa Liljenquist tallied a season-best seven assists.
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Jill Brown garnered a team-high 22 digs.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
MC took as much as an 18-13 in the opening set, but Tougaloo fought back to tie the contest at 22-all. A kill from
Krista Zieschang and
Hannah Rue helped the Lady Choctaws close out the set with three of the next four points.
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The Navy and Gold opened the second set with a 9-3 run. The Bulldogs rallied to take their first lead of the set at 17-16 on a pair of MC miscues. The Lady Choctaws responded with five straight points to regain the lead at 21-17 and never looked back en route to the 25-19 win.
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After MC fell 25-21 in the third set, the Lady Choctaws took command of the fourth set early with an 8-1 run. Tougaloo attempted rallies midway through the set, but couldn't overcome the early deficit as the Lady Choctaws claimed a 25-21, match-clinching, set win.
ALCORN STATE NOTES
A pair of Lady Choctaws posted double-doubles in the match. King added her second, career double-double in the match. The senior led the squad with 12 kills and added 11 digs. Chandler garnered her 14th career double-double with 15 assists and 14 digs.
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Kayana Mitchell joined King in double figures kills as the Southaven, Miss., product posted 11 kills.
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Torres paced the offensive attack with a team-leading 17 assists. Brown added 18 digs while
Madison Kimes supplied 11 to assist in the defensive effort.
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HOW IT HAPPNED
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MC trailed early in the opening set against ASU, but a pair of Torres' service aces gave the Lady Choctaws an 18-17 lead. The Lady Braves regained the lead, but MC battled back to knot the contest on several occasions down the stretch, including a 24-all deadlock behind a kill from King. Following a bad set for the Lady Braves, Rue added the final blow with a kill as MC clinched a 26-24 win.
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Despite trailing 6-2 early in the second set, the Lady Choctaws rallied to hold a 24-22 advantage. However, ASU responded with a run of its own to take a 25-24 lead. A Lady Braves' attack error helped tie the contest at 25-all, but the Purple and Gold took a 26-25 lead on a kill from Singryd Valadares and used a MC miscue to clinch the match 27-25.
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A tightly contest, third set saw the two squads exchange leads and ties. ASU forced the final tie at 22-all and capitalized on a pair of Mississippi College mistakes down the stretch to clinch the set win 25-22.
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MC trailed early in the fourth set, but the Lady Choctaws fought back to hold a 17-16 lead behind a kill from Brown. Following a service error from the Navy and Gold, ASU used a kill and service ace to grab a two-point advantage. MC clipped the slim margin to a point on several occasions down the stretch, but the Lady Braves collected the final three points to clinch the match.
NEXT UP
Mississippi College travels to Hoover, Ala., for the South Region Crossover. MC opens the two-day event on Friday, Oct. 13 against Flagler College. First whistle is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
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