GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University volleyball team, playing in all pink jerseys to represent Breast Cancer Awareness Night, remained unbeaten in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play with a 3-0 sweep of Texas Southern on Monday night at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

Grambling State (7-7 overall, 4-0 SWAC) held off Texas Southern in the opening set, 25-20 and grabbed the second set, 25-15. The Lady Tigers, who have yet to drop a set in conference play, won the match in the third set, 25-18.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
First Set 

• Grambling State, which remained perfect at home, led 14-11 after a service ace by Zyonn Smith
• Texas Southern (1-13, 1-2) rallied and took a 16-15 advantage after a GSU service error
• With the score tied at 19, Grambling State seized control of the set with four straight points, capped by a hitting error by TSU.
• The Lady Tigers claimed the 25-20 win in the opening set after back-to-back attacking errors by Texas Southern

Second Set 

• GSU got a service ace by Ana Calderon, along with kills by Zyonn Smith and Jayden James to begin the set up 3-0
• TSU tied the set at 3, however Grambling State went on a 13-2 run, capped by a James kill, to take a 16-5 advantage
• Back came Texas Southern, using a 7-1, closing the gap to 17-12
• The deficit proved to be too much as Grambling State outscored Texas Southern, 8-3, to win the set, 25-15

Third Set 

• Much like the second set, Grambling State exploded out of the gate, taking a 5-1 advantage after an attacking error
• Texas Southern closed the gap to 5-3, but the Lady Tigers quickly pushed the margin to 7-3, forcing TSU to call a timeout
• TSU again cut the margin, this time to 11-8, but GSU answered with four straight points to extend the advantage to 15-8 and force another Texas Southern timeout
• Kills by Haley Gomez and Destiny Thomas, along with a service ace and attacking error by TSU pushed the lead to 20-9
• Texas Southern could not recover as Grambling State completed the three-set sweep with a 25-18 victory

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Grambling State finished with 49 kills in 119 total attacks, with 17 errors (hitting .289)
• The Lady Tigers recorded 61 digs, 45 assists, 8.0 total team blocks and six service aces
• Jayden James led the offense by hitting .306, with a team-high 15 kills in 36 total attacks and finished off the double-double with 15 digs
• Destiny Thomas added eight kills, while Kai Williams and Haley Gomez each recorded seven
• Gomez also tallied four block assists and two block solos
• Ana Calderon registered 25 assists and nine digs
• Hillary English poured in 13 assists and five digs
• Defensively, Nyah Ellis recorded 15 digs
• Texas Southern finished with 25 kills in 109 total attacks, with 19 errors
• The Tigers recorded 47 digs, 22 assists, 7.0 total team blocks and four service aces
• Danielle Lilley led the offense with five kills and five digs
• Aaliyah Fields dished out 10 assists
• Dallas Balanay-Flores registered 15 digs

UP NEXT 
Grambling State returns to action at the SWAC Round-up Oct. 9-10 in Huntsville, Ala. The Lady Tigers meet Florida A&M in a showdown of two unbeaten SWAC teams at 1 p.m. on Sunday, followed by a 7 p.m. match against Alabama A&M to conclude Day 1 play of the round-up. GSU wrapped up the weekend with a match on Monday, Oct. 10 against Mississippi Valley State.

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