HBCUAC Volleyball Championship: Dillard and Talladega Clash For Title

The Bleu Devils will square off against the Tornadoes for the conference championship.

Talladega Tornadoes / Credit: HBCUAC

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.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Wednesday, November 13 at Noon CT

No. 1 Talladega College Tornadoes vs. No. 2 Dillard University Bleu Devils

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Talladega Tornadoes / Credit: HBCUAC

NO. 1 TALLADEGA 3, NO. 4 PHILANDER SMITH 0 

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.
 

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Dillard Bleu Devils / Credit: HBCUAC

NO. 2 DILLARD 3, NO. 3 FISK 0 

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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