GRAMBLING, La. | Grambling State volleyball delivered a dominant performance Wednesday afternoon, sweeping Arkansas-Pine Bluff 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-6) at the Men's Memorial Gymnasium to earn its second consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory.
The Lady Tigers improved to 11-13 overall and 7-5 in SWAC play with the victory, while Arkansas-Pine Bluff fell to 4-23 overall and 1-11 in conference action.
Grambling overcame a competitive opening set before taking control of the match, winning the final two sets convincingly. After edging the Golden Lions 25-22 in the first set, the Lady Tigers posted a 25-16 victory in the second before closing out the match with a commanding 25-6 performance in the third.
The Lady Tigers were efficient offensively throughout the afternoon, recording 40 kills on 84 total attacks while hitting .345 as a team. Grambling also limited Arkansas-Pine Bluff to a .056 hitting percentage, forcing the Golden Lions into 17 attack errors.
Rihianna Brown led the Grambling offensive attack with nine kills on 15 attempts, hitting .467. Lyric Jordan added eight kills and finished with 9.5 points, while Kenya Lucas contributed seven kills while hitting .385.
Amaris Marks provided another offensive spark with six kills on 11 attempts, posting a .455 hitting percentage. Angelique Pena added five kills and recorded a .444 hitting percentage.
Alayna Howard orchestrated the Lady Tigers' offensive attack, finishing with 33 assists while adding three kills on four attempts. Howard also contributed four digs and one service ace.
Defensively, Powell paced Grambling with 12 digs, while Nelson added eight digs and contributed three service aces. Jordan finished with six digs, and Brown recorded five.
Grambling's serving game also played an important role in the victory, as the Lady Tigers finished with 11 service aces. Nelson led the team with three aces, while Hailey Botello contributed two.
The Lady Tigers saved their best performance for the third set, recording 11 kills on 19 attempts while committing just one attack error to hit an impressive .526. Grambling's defensive pressure and offensive efficiency prevented Arkansas-Pine Bluff from finding any rhythm as the home team completed the sweep.
UP NEXT
The Lady Tigers will return to the Men's Memorial Gymnasium on Friday, Nov. 6, when they host Alcorn State in another SWAC matchup. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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