DOVER, Del. - It took five sets,
but the Delaware State University volleyball team built off of the electricity
of the Memorial Hall crowd to defeat Morgan State University, 3-2, Friday
evening. After dropping the first set, 30-32, the Hornets knew they were in for
a long night. They fought back in the
next two, winning each 25-13 before falling 19-25 in set four. In the deciding game, Del State took the
crowd's energy and took the set and match at 15-8.
Sophomore
Jessica Croucher (Brisbane,
Australia) and junior Laisha Davis
(Riviera Beach, Fla.) led the Hornets to team season-highs in five different
categories in addition to posting personal season-highs in various categories.
Croucher
recorded an attack percentage of .405 (19-4-37), which was over 70 points
higher than her previous high of .333 set on Sept. 30 against Howard. Her 19 kills bested her previous of 14, set
against Navy on Sept. 9. Croucher also
collected four aces on the night. Davis
collected a season-high 11 kills for DSU.
"This
was a great win at home and the fans really helped with their energy," stated
DSU head coach Renee Arnold. "We had
some players hitting great statistical numbers with Jessica leading the
outsides and Laisha in the middle. The
team is finally coming together and building trust on the court. This is a good win that will help build our
momentum as we continue conference play."
Individually,
junior Bel Fakaosi (Salt Lake City,
Utah) and senior Sonja Banicevic
(Zagreb, Croatia) also set season-highs.
Fakaosi recorded 45 assists while Banicevic posted 23 digs in the match.
As
a team, the Hornets recorded season-highs in kills (57), total attempts (152),
assists (50), digs (72) and aces (12).
In
the first set of the game, neither team broke away, as the largest lead by
either was just two points. The Bears
took the game, winning, 32-30, on kills from Nangeeshie Plaud and Janelle
Wilson. Croucher led the way with eight
kills and a .429 attack percentage (8-2-14).
DSU outhit MSU, .167 to .146 in the set.
The
Hornets took a total team effort in set two, hitting .357 from the floor, and
going on a 8-0 run to take a 17-9 lead with Fakaosi serving. Del State closed out the set, 25-13, with an
attack error by Natalie Chafeh and service error from Erin Cox.
In
the third set, DSU finished the Bears on an 8-1 run to take the 25-13 win. Morgan State recorded 10 errors and a -.056
attack percentage compared to DSU's two errors and .226 percentage.
The
Bears jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth set to force a Del State
timeout. The Hornets would come within
one at 14-15 off of a kill from Croucher, but Morgan State won the set, 25-19.
The
two teams were tied at 4-4 in the fifth and deciding set before the Hornets
went on a 5-1 run, including two kills each from Davis and Croucher to force a
MSU timeout. An attack error from Plau
forced another timeout from the Bears as the Hornets took a 10-5 lead. Davis recorded another kill while sophomore Sonya Inderbitzin (Annandale, Va.)
collected an ace to give DSU a 12-5 lead.
A Croucher kill sealed the deal for Del State as they went on to win,
15-8, and take the match.
With
the win, the Hornets improve to 2-1 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play and
3-12 overall while the Bears fall to 1-1 in the MEAC and 3-15 overall.
Del
State next travels to Coppin State on Sunday with the match slated for 3 p.m.
---DSU VB---
