Posted: Sep 09, 2025
Volleyball travels to Highway 80 rival Jarvis Christian
The Highway 80 rivalry will be renewed on Wednesday, as Wiley University volleyball travels to Hawkins, Texas, to face Jarvis Christian University at 6 p.m. inside Rand Gymnasium.
Live statistics are available and can be found in the volleyball schedule on wileyathletics.com. Wednesday will be the first regular season match for the Lady Wildcats (1-1) since visiting Centenary College of Louisiana on August 30. They scrimmaged Tyler Junior College on Thursday.
Jarvis Christian (1-3) is coming off competing in Philander Smith University's Panther Classic on August 29 and 30. It beat Rust College in four sets but was swept by University of Oklahoma Science and Arts, Langston University and Harris-Stowe State University.
This will mark the first meeting between the Highway 80 rivals since September 2, 2023. It will be Wiley's first visit to Hawkins since September 18, 2019. Wiley dominated the series, winning 28 matches from 2006 to 2021. The Lady Bulldogs have claimed the two recent meetings. The teams will rematch on September 17 in Alumni Gymnasium.
Jae Jemmott leads the team with 17 kills. Rachelle Santos follows with 16. Nadia Cortez leads with 33 digs and 13 service aces.
Quick Notes
Successful Debut: Head coach Frankie Velez became the third head coach since 2006 to win his debut match. He joins Nancy Sikobe (2009) and Mike MacNeill (2017).
Experiencing Early Success: The Lady Wildcats won their season opener for the first time since 2021, ending a streak of three consecutive losses.
Exorcising Home Demons: The Lady Wildcats snapped an eight-match home losing streak with their sweep over Texas College on August 29. From 2006-2019, it went 105-23 (.820).
Aces are Wild: The Lady Wildcats have recorded 24 aces in seven sets. They rank third in the country with 3.43 aces per set.
Big Returns: The 2025 Lady Wildcats return 15 players from last season. Shyla Starks, T'aja Hardy, Nadia Cortez, Rejinah Hickman and Johna Davis enter their third season with the program.
For more coverage on the Lady Wildcats, visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/wvball/index.
About Wiley University Athletics
Wiley University sponsors 13 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, softball and baseball. It competes in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC).
Wiley University sponsors 13 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, softball and baseball. It competes in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC).
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