#SWACVB18 Championship Preview

11/17/2018 8:09:08 PM

SWAC.org

ITTA BENA, Miss. – It’s an all-Alabama final as defending champion Alabama State will take on Alabama A&M tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. in the 2018 Southwestern Athletic Conference Women’s Volleyball Tournament championship match.

The match will be broadcast on ESPNU at 9 p.m.

This is just the second time – and the first time since 2013 -- that the teams have met in the final. There, Alabama State prevailed in a five-set classic over the Lady Bulldogs for the program’s first-ever championship.

The Lady Hornets (22-17) come in riding a 12-match win streak and are making their sixth-straight finals appearance under coach Penny Lucas-White. Alabama State downed Prairie View A&M in four sets to reach the semis, then pushed aside Southern in straight sets there. Having claimed the tournament crown in four of the past five seasons, Alabama State is led by multiple-time All-SWAC honoree and 2016 SWAC Volleyball Tournament MVP Bayle’ Bennett.

The junior hitter ranks tops on her team – and is among league leaders – In kills this season and has been dominant throughout the tournament. The Chicago, Ill. native has put up 28 combined kills and 20 digs – recording double-doubles in both the quarterfinals and semifinals – while hitting .258 in the tournament. Additionally, the Lady Hornets will look to 2018 SWAC Co-Player of the Year and team captain Candace Martin (12 kills, .298 hit percentage in tournament) and setter Kori Kutsch (84 assists in tournament) to facilitate matters.

As far as X-factors, the Lady Hornets have had strong contributions from Krysta Medearis, Taira Cottingham and Payten Clark. Clark, who is one of the more dominating two-way players in the league when things are clicking, has posted 14 total kills and figured in on seven total blocks this tournament.

Cottingham has hit .282 this tournament with 18 kills along with figuring in on six blocks, and Medearis has added 21 kills.

Alabama A&M (23-14) counters with what has been the most effective offensive attack in the league all season long. After sweeping Alcorn State in the quarterfinals and providing similar treatment to Texas Southern in the semifinals, the Lady Bulldogs are looking for the program’s 11^th title – a win would mark the first championship for coach Rose Powell.

Leading the way has been 2018 All-SWAC first-team hitter Terra Brooks. Second in the league with 361 kills, Brooks has been excellent on offense and defense with 18 kills and 25 digs so far in the postseason. 2018 SWAC Co-Player of the Year Maya Evans has been unstoppable this tournament, hitting .595 with 24 kills over the weekend.

Senior Jaelin Gant has been a factor with 19 kills and 15 digs, and the 2018 All-SWAC first-team hitter will be counted on as one of the team’s leaders. Fab freshman Alana Cox dominated with 10 kills on a.625 hit percentage in the semifinals, and the 2018 SWAC Freshman of the Year has hit .500 over the first two rounds. Making it all go is 2018 Setter of the Year Megan Evans, who has put up 62 assists and put away 13 kills as a secondary threat in the attack game.

The teams have met twice this season, with both sides winning on the other’s home floor. On Oct. 4, Gant, Brooks and Cox dominated, combining for 50 kills as the Lady Bulldogs took down Alabama State in a hotly-contested four-set affair.

Alabama State earned a taste of revenge on Nov. 2, putting the lone conference loss on the Lady Bulldogs’ ledger in a nail-biting five-set classic. Bennett led with 18 kills, and Medearis added 15.

Gant and Brooks posted monstrous numbers against the Lady Hornets this year. Gant had a combined 42 kills on a .345 attack clip during the two regular season meetings, and Brooks posted 39 kills. Me. Evans averaged 45 assists per match against Alabama State. However, Ma. Evans was held in check with just three kills over the two matches.

Bennett led with 33 kills across the two prior tilts.

By the Numbers:
- 5: This will be the first time in five years that Alabama State and Alabama A&M will meet in the SWAC volleyball final. Alabama State prevailed over the Lady Bulldogs in 2013, the first-ever SWAC title for coach Penny Lucas-White and the Lady Hornets program. 2013 was also the last finals appearance for AAMU.

- 5: Number of All-SWAC honorees for Alabama A&M, most of any school. AAMU also had the 2018 Setter and Newcomer of the Year (Megan Evans), the 2018 Freshman of the Year (Alana Cox) and the 2018 Co-Player of the Year (Maya Evans), the latter of whom shared the honor with Alabama State’s Candace Martin, one of four Lady Hornets to earn All-SWAC nods.

- 6: This is the sixth-straight SWAC finals berth for Alabama State. By comparison, this is the first finals appearance for AAMU under coach Rose Powell.

- 13: Total finals appearances by Alabama A&M, the most of any SWAC school. The Lady Bulldogs have also won 10 championships, also the most by a SWAC school.

- 1: Number of SWAC Volleyball Tournament MVPs playing in tomorrow’s match (Bayle’ Bennett, ASU, 2016). Bennett leads the league with 365 kills thus far this year.

- .397: Hitting percentage for Alabama A&M’s Maya Evans, the top mark in the SWAC. The Lady Bulldogs have led the league all season long in hit percentage (.231), and have four players with 267 kills or more on the season.

- 2,197: Number of combined assists by the top playmakers in the finals. AAMU’s Megan Evans has dished 1,081 assists this year, and Kori Kutsch has put up 1,166 helpers this year.

- 3: A win by Alabama State would make them the fourth team in league history to reel off three straight SWAC volleyball championships. AAMU has done it twice, and Texas Southern and Grambling have also accomplished the feat.