Nashville --- In the final match of the season, the
Tennessee State University volleyball team fell to Southern Illinois
University- Edwardsville 3-1 Sunday afternoon in Kean Hall.
Tennessee State (9-18) opened the match with a 25-21 set one
win but dropped the next three frames (23-25, 16-25, 22-25) in the loss to
SIU-Edwardsville (14-15).
Seniors Vicmari Prospero and Santia Sanders led Tennessee
State with 11 kills apiece while sophomore Calasia Williams led the team with
15 digs. Senior Kamille King also turned in double-digit digs with 10.
Sydney Winslow paced SIUE with 16 kills while Julia
Whitfield added 12. Karie Downing registered 13 digs for the Cougars.
After trading points in the opening set, SIUE managed to grab
an 18-15 lead. TSU, however, responded with three unanswered points, including
a kill by Santia Sanders and an ace from Shaquita Williams, to even the score. The
Tigers finished the set strong and outscored the Cougars 6-2 to claim the 25-21
win.
With the score at a 10-10 stalemate, SIUE posted the next four
points to capture a 14-10 lead in the second set. The Cougars stretched the
advantage to 18-12 before the Tigers rallied to cut the deficit down to two
points, 21-19. A kill by Vicmari Prospero brought the Tigers to within one,
24-23, but the Cougars held on to win and tied the match, 1-1.
The Tigers seemed to be in control of the third set until
the momentum shifted towards the Cougars. TSU was leading 13-10 when SIUE used
an 8-1 run to grab an 18-14 lead. An SIUE service error gave TSU its 15th
point of the frame but SIUE closed the set with a 7-1 run to win, 25-16, and
take a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set was tied when four consecutive points made
the score 8-4 in favor of the visitors. TSU fell behind, 17-12, before closing
to within two, 17-15, after three unanswered points. With TSU trailing, 21-18,
a kill by Shaquita Williams sparked a rally that knotted the score at 21. SIUE
held a slight, 23-22, lead when the back-to-back points pushed the Cougars to
the win.
Tennessee State finished the match with 37 kills on a .147
hitting percentage while SIU-Edwardsville tallied 53 kills and hit .218. TSU
finished the game with 52 digs and had 11 service errors.
Seniors Kamille King, Vicmari Prospero and Santia Sanders
were honored in a brief ceremony before the match.
