The Southern University Lady Jaguars took on their archrival, the Grambling State Tigers in a Monday night volleyball matchup at Seymour Gymnasium on November 10th. The Lady Jags came into this contest with a 12-15 record, most recently winning the game the night before against UAPB 3 sets to 0. They were looking to take down their foes in an attempt to raise their standing before the SWAC Volleyball championship tournament in a few week’s time.
The game starts off, and both teams came out of the gate with their respective A games. Junior Ariana Brown lead the team in kills, and she did more of the same at the start of this matchup, smashing a pair of kills over the net to give her team the momentum that they needed to start the contest. However, the Lady Tigers responded with a momentum shift of their own, where they would rally back to tie the score up at 10-10. Southern regained its lead and went on a 5-point run, distancing themselves from Grambling and making the score 15-10 halfway through the first set. From there, the Lady Tigers tried everything in their power to try to muster up a comeback, but the Lady Jags had firm control of the first set that they would not relinquish, winning the first set by a score of 25 to 17.
Coming off a good start, the Southern volleyball team would come out flat to start the second set. They trailed early in the set 7-2, but once again, leaders from this veteran-filled team stepped up to lead the comeback. This time, it was a pair of graduate students, Bailee St Romain and Elise Doomes. They contributed heavily by coming up with a couple of huge blocks on the frontline that really helped get the team back ahead. This, along with a potent attacking offense, led Southern to pick up another victorious set. This time, they won 25-21, slightly closer than the first set. The Jags were looking to shut out the Tigers in 3 sets with one more set win.
The 3rd set gets underway, and it becomes a dogfight. Grambling comes out fighting for their lives, sporting a 13-8 lead. Then it was Junior Ariana Brown who came through in the clutch again, coming in with another pair of kills that propelled the team to close the gap on Grambling. The set came to the wire, with both teams going back and forth. The score was all tied up 24-24, with the win by two stipulation in effect. Then Grambling prevailed, taking the set 26-24 and forcing a 4th set. The 4th set starts, and Southern got off to a blazing hot start. They came out of the gate taking a commanding lead, one that they would not let go of all the way through the set. They came away with the win in the 4th set 25-17, therefore winning the game in 4 sets. Taking down the Grambling State Lady Tigers 3 sets to 1 was a huge win for the Lady Jaguars heading into the last two games of the season, preparing for conference championship week.
