WINSTON-SALEM, Nc. — The Bowie State women's volleyball team opened the season's first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Round-Up with a strong showing Friday, earning victories in both of its matches to improve to 5-5 overall and 3-2 in CIAA play. The Bulldogs first defeated Bluefield State University before returning to the court later in the day to secure another conference win over Johnson C. Smith University. The two victories give Bowie State valuable momentum heading into the remainder of the CIAA Round-Up, with the Bulldogs continuing to compete against conference opponents throughout the weekend.
Match 1 vs. Bluefield State
Bowie State defeated Bluefield State 3-1 on Friday, winning 25-10, 21-25, 25-20, 26-24. The Bulldogs finished with 47 kills and held Bluefield State to a .021 hitting percentage. BSU pulled away in the first set with a 7-0 run that moved the score from 16-8 to 23-8, with Hale serving six straight points in the stretch and adding two aces. Earlier, Johnson's serve helped the Bulldogs turn a 5-2 edge into 9-2. BSU closed the set on kills by Cousins and Swinton to win it 25-10. The Bulldogs cut a 10-point deficit to 20-22 in the second set, with the late push including consecutive service aces from Marte and a block by Cousins and Terry. Big Blue answered with three of the final four points to take the set, 25-21.
BSU steadied the third set after trailing 8-7, moving in front 12-9 behind an Anacius kill, two Asomani-Martin service aces and a Johnson kill. Bluefield State later tied it at 18-18, but the Bulldogs answered with an Anacius kill and two B-State attack errors to go back ahead 21-18. BSU closed out the set 25-20. The Bulldogs closed the fourth set after Bluefield State tied it at 24, getting an Anacius kill and then a Johnson/Cousins block that forced the final attack error for a 26-24 finish. Earlier, BSU answered a 10-8 deficit by moving in front on Swinton's service ace and later built the edge to 14-11 with kills from Anacius and Johnson. Cousins finished with 12 kills, hit .455 and led the Bulldogs with 18 points and 10 total blocks. Hale recorded 39 assists, 10 digs, three service aces and four block assists. Asomani-Martin collected a team-high 18 digs while adding eight kills and three aces. Swinton posted 12 kills, 12 digs, three block assists and one ace.
Match 2 vs. Johnson C. Smith
BSU defeated Johnson C. Smith 3-0 on Friday, taking the sets 25-18, 25-21 and 25-20. The Bulldogs finished with a 34-21 advantage in kills and held JCSU to a .022 hitting percentage. Bowie State also recorded 44 digs and seven service aces while improving to 5-5 overall and 3-2 in CIAA play.The Bulldogs repeatedly worked back from deficits with scoring stretches that changed the shape of each set. After Johnson C. Smith held an 11-7 edge in the first set, BSU ran off six straight points to move ahead 13-11, part of a stretch in which it won seven of eight rallies. The same pattern appeared again with the Bulldogs turning an 8-9 score into a 14-9 lead in the second set on a 6-0 run, then using a four-point closing burst from 21-20 to finish the set. In the third set, BSU moved from 4-7 down to a 10-7 lead behind six straight service points.
The Bulldogs finished with 34 kills to Johnson C. Smith's 21 and hit .129 while the Golden Bulls hit .022. BSU also had a 44-36 edge in digs and served seven aces, with those service points helping support the repeated runs. Terry finished with seven kills on a .462 hitting percentage, while Mil'lanni Marte added 11 digs and Loundmon and Hale each recorded 12 assists. Terry led the Bulldogs with seven kills while hitting .462 and added two block assists. Pope finished with five kills, one ace and two block assists. Marte collected a team-high 11 digs, three kills and one ace. Loundmon recorded 12 assists, two aces and three digs.
Bowie State will return to action Saturday, Oct. 3, as the Bulldogs continue competition at the CIAA Round-Up in Winston-Salem, N.C. Bowie State will
face Claflin University at 9 a.m., followed by another CIAA matchup against Livingstone College at 3 p.m.
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