Southern University Dominates over the Delta Devils

On Saturday, October 8, 2016 the Southern University Lady Jaguars 3-3 faced the Mississippi Valley State University Delta Devils (0-6), coming out with a big win! The Jaguars finished with a 3-0 win. Game one’s final score came to 25-17, with game two resulting in 25-10 and finally 25-16 in game three.
Returning from a tough loss to Jackson State University, the Lady Jaguars went into this game with lots of positivity and optimism.
After the 3-0 win, head coach Venessa Jacobs said the big win is much due to the cohesiveness and positivity of the team. “I thought we played as a team, I thought we played as
one, I know that no matter who I put in, everybody’s attitudes were one hundred percent positive…” said Coach Jacobs. Venessa Jacobs has a 34-63 game record at SUBR and this is her fourth year as the head coach.
Freshman, Brianna Hawkins, sophomore and Paige Hall led the team with six kills in the battle against the Delta Devils. Vaterra Calais assisted in guiding the team to victory with four aces and sixteen assists. To add to this week’s accomplishments, Senior, Libero, Diamond Williams reached 1,500 career digs. By the end of the game, she actually had 1,516. To put that into perspective, only twenty-five active NCAA Division 1 women’s volleyball players have accumulated more than 1,500 career digs. “It feels great, this is a milestone I never imagined I would reach, and our season isn’t even half way over!” Williams is very excited to see what’s in store for the rest of the season. She is looking to having a successful senior year. The Jaguars are ranked No. 3 in this week’s SWAC rankings with a division record of 4-3, and are climbing to the top. The Jaguar team has hopes of winning the championship this year. Coach Jacobs would like to implement a few improvements to give the team a more competitive edge. “The improvements are to adjust quick, play as a team, and with a great attitude.” Jacobs said there seems to be a bit of ‘lag-time’ whenever she has to make adjustments on the court, which often causes the team to lose focus for a bit. She wants her team to be comfortable with each other, so that way, whomever she puts on the court can fit with ease, like a puzzle-piece. Moving forward into the season, Lady Jaguar coaches and players would like to see a little more support at their home games. Freshman, Dreona Clayton said, “It would be comforting if more of our student body and community came out to watch us play the game we love.” The Lady Jaguars plan to play hard all season long in pursuit of the SWAC
championship, and with a number three ranking in SWAC, that is certainly an attainable goal. The Southern University Women’s Volleyball team is 4-3 in conference play. The Jaguars will return to action on October 14, during an away game against Prairie View A&M at 3 PM. The next home game will be October 21 against Alcorn State at 2 PM in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.