Volleyball dominates Wilberforce for first win
NASHVILLE - The Wiley University volleyball team is on the board for 2024. With an overwhelming attack, the Lady Wildcats were in complete control in a sweep over Wilberforce University (25-15, 25-10, 25-13) in the opening match of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities pod hosted by Fisk University at the Henderson A. Johnson Arena.
Wiley (1-9, 1-5 HBCUAC) ended an 11-match losing streak - dating back to the end of the 2023 season. Head coach Obadiah Montgomery picked up her first career victory. The Lady Wildcats outhit the Lady Bulldogs .455 to .098 and outscored them 36-17 in kills. They only made six errors in 66 attempts. For the first time this season, Wiley dominated on the serve - putting down 20 aces and benefiting from four errors by Wilberforce, which posted five aces and took advantage of 10 errors by Wiley.
Madisyn Moore led the team with 10 kills in 13 attempts. Rachelle Santos followed with nine kills on 15 attempts. Shyla Starks contributed eight kills. Maria Luiza Chaves led the team with 19 assists, followed by Lynnetra Taylor's 11. Nadia Cortez became the second Lady Wildcat to record double-digit serving aces with 10. She also led the team with seven digs.
Wiley's only significant deficit was three points at the beginning of the second and third sets. It pulled away in the first set with a four-point run, Cortez recorded a kill and two aces. Moore got two kills to close the set. The Lady Wildcats took control of the second set with a nine-point run, turning a four-point lead into a 13-point advantage. Cortez had four aces, and Johna Davis contributed two kills.
Trailing 8-5 in the third set, Moore and Santos got kills and T'aja Hardy recorded an ace to put Wiley in front. Two aces by Cortez and kills from Santos and Starks expanded the lead to six.
In its second match, Wiley fell in three sets to the host Fisk University (25-20, 25-13, 25-18). It was outhit .281 to -.012 and outscored 38-19 in kills. The Lady Wildcats edged the Lady Bulldogs 20-17 on the serve. They recorded 13 aces and made five errors, while Fisk tallied 12 aces and seven errors. Fisk had the edge on the block 6-4.
Davis led Wiley with five kills. Starks, Chaves, Moore and Cortez each had three. Chaves tallied seven assists, followed by Taylor's six. Santos notched six service aces. Hardy led the team with nine digs followed by eight from Starks and Cortez. Moore had a solo block and a block assist, Davis put up three block assists and Santos had two.
The Lady Wildcats will wrap up the pod at 9 a.m. on Saturday against Rust College, which suffered its 13th loss against Philander Smith University.
For more coverage on the Lady Wildcats visit Women's Volleyball Home - Wiley University (wileyathletics.com)
About Wiley University Athletics
Wiley University sponsors 12 varsity sports, women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field and baseball. It competes in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) and the Continental Athletic Conference for men's and women's soccer.
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