PETERSBURG, Va. — Bowie State (8-10, 5-7 CIAA) lost to Fayetteville State (12-4, 9-3 CIAA) 3-1 on Friday, with set scores of 18-25, 19-25, 25-23 and 18-25. The Bulldogs' lone set win came in the third, when they moved from a 7-6 deficit to an 11-8 lead and finished the set 25-23. BSU totaled 62 digs and nine blocks, while Fayetteville State finished with advantages in kills, 49-37, and hitting percentage, .113-.031.
Match 1 vs Fayetteville State
In the opening set the Bulldogs moved in front 4-1 in the opening set as Fayetteville State committed two attack errors and a bad set around a Melisa Anacius kill, and BSU later led 7-3 after Payton Swinton's kill. Fayetteville State answered with five straight points, including two Kemyah Harris kills and a Leticia Neves Nascimento kill, to go ahead 8-7, then took four straight points after Anacius tied it at 8-8 for a 12-8 lead. BSU got kills from Abena Asomani-Martin, Gabrielle Hale, Taylor Johnson and Amara Pope during the remainder of the set and took two points after facing 24-16, but McKenna Miller closed the set for Fayetteville State at 25-18.
In set two, BSU moved in front 5-3 early in the second set after Mil'lanni Marte's serve produced two Fayetteville State attack errors, including a Payton Swinton/Jy'Asha Cousins block. Fayetteville State tied it at 5-5 and later went ahead 8-6 on two McKenna Miller kills, but the Bulldogs came back to lead 9-8 before Johnson served an ace and Anacius and Swinton combined on a block for a 14-12 BSU lead. Trinity Loundmon's ace later made it 17-14, but Fayetteville State tied the set at 18-18, moved ahead 20-18 and, after Madyson Brinson's kill cut it to 20-19, took the final five points to win 25-19.
After trailing 7-6, the Bulldogs scored four straight points on Abena Asomani-Martin's serve, using two Fayetteville State attack errors, a Johnson kill from Hale and another attack error to move ahead 10-7. BSU pushed the lead to 15-10 behind kills from Swinton and Iman Wright, but Fayetteville State pulled within 18-17 before kills by Swinton and Johnson helped the Bulldogs extend the advantage to 22-18 and a Fayetteville State attack error put BSU at set point, 24-19. Fayetteville State answered with four straight points to get within 24-23 before Asomani-Martin finished the set with a kill from Hale for a 25-23 Bulldog win.
After Fayetteville State built a 4-1 lead, BSU worked back to 6-6 on a block by Cousins and two Fayetteville State attack errors, then matched the visitors through ties at 7-7 and 8-8. The Bulldogs moved ahead 10-8 after a Fayetteville State attack error and a block by Hale and Anacius, but Fayetteville State scored four straight points to go in front 16-13. Swinton answered with consecutive kills to bring BSU within 16-15, but Fayetteville State followed with six straight points and later closed the set 25-18 on a block by Erin Johnson and Leticia Neves Nascimento.
Johnson led the Bulldogs with 12 kills and 13.5 points, adding five digs and one service ace. Swinton recorded 10 kills, 13 digs and a team-high five total blocks. Hale finished with 24 assists, six digs and two total blocks.
Match 2 vs Johnson C. Smith
In a dominant, bounce back performance, Bowie State created separation late in the first set, scoring four straight points on Bracey Gross' serve to move from a 20-16 lead to a 24-16 advantage. Earlier, the Bulldogs recovered from a 3-1 deficit and moved ahead 6-4 behind kills from Madyson Brinson, Abena Asomani-Martin and Dyllan Chandler. After Johnson C. Smith got one point back, Chandler finished the set with a kill from Melisa Anacius for a 25-17 BSU win.
In the second set, the Bulldogs changed the set at 9-9, scoring nine straight points to move ahead 18-9. Taylor Johnson served the final eight points of that run, including two aces, while Gabrielle Hale assisted kills by Chandler and Damani Myers during the stretch. BSU held the separation from there and took the set 25-15, with Chandler adding a late kill before Johnson C. Smith's service error ended it.
After a 4-4 tie in the third set, the Bulldogs took control by winning seven of eight rallies, moving ahead 11-5 behind kills from Chandler, Christina San, Spring Terry and Myers. BSU kept adding separation with an Amara Pope kill, a Myers block and a team service ace before closing the set 25-13 on a Johnson C. Smith bad set.
Chandler led the Bulldogs with 10 kills, hit .429 and added a solo block. Johnson collected a team-high 12 digs and served two aces. Hale finished with 13 assists, five digs and one service ace.
Up next, the Bulldogs remain in Virginia to take on Winston-Salem State at 9:00am and Bluefield State at 3:00pm.
For the most up-to-date information on Bowie State Athletics and its 14 varsity sport teams, please visit bsubulldogs.com.
