GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling Tigers volleyball team took control of Arkansas-Pine Bluff from start to finish in a 3-1 (25-17, 26-24, 14-25, 26-24) win at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center that earned the Tigers their first Southwestern Conference victory of the season. This is the second consecutive victory for the Tigers as they defeated Tougaloo College on Friday, Feb 5 in straight sets.



Sophomore right side hitter and preseason All-SWAC selection Gillian Jones dominated the contest with a game-high 18 kills for the Tigers, (2-3 overall, 1-2 SWAC) who cruised to a 1-0 lead in comfortable fashion. Setter Kalee Caldwell was remarkable on both ends as she produced a team-high 18 assists while adding 14 digs as the team squeezed by for the second set victory over a tough Lady Lions bunch that came into the game ranked third in SWAC standings.


Sophomore outside hitter Rayven McKenzie chipped in with three kills on the evening while fellow Tiger and freshman defensive specialist Jada Taylor was all over the floor the entire evening as she generated a game-high 28 digs for Grambling, who improved to 2-3 on the season.

Sophomore Semira Fields chipped in with five kills and 14 digs for the Tigers, who battled in a back-and-forth fourth set that ended in the Tigers favor after trailing 24-20 and when it seemed all hope was lost, the ladies played their best stretch of ball in the most crucial moment, scoring six straight points, including a sensational off-balance match-winning kill by junior middle blocker Tamaira Johnson that send the Lady Lions (3-2 overall, 2-2 SWAC) back to Pine Bluff with their second conference loss of the season.



Arkansas-Pine Bluff was led by Zyonn Smith who finished with a team-high 13 kills while teammate Kaila Robinson added 11 kills in the loss for the Lady Lions.

Up Next

Grambling State returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 11 against Jarvis Christian. First-serve from the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center is set for 5 p.m. in Grambling.

 

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