Orangeburg, S.C. -- The 2-9 Alabama State University Lady Hornets struggled during the 2009 South Carolina Spikefest, losing to Charleston Southern, the host team South Carolina State, the Citadel and North Carolina Central University.
Friday at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center, ASU was handed its first loss against Charleston Southern (25-16, 25-6, 25-9). The Lady Hornets had a combined -.175 attack percentage.
Jessica Holt was able to tally four kills on just 16 attempts to go along with one block assist, leading all players in both categories. Returning senior Anna Meinert was able to pull down two kills, five assists and four digs. Kelsye Hall also chipped in two kills, four assists, two digs and a block.
The Lady Hornets finished the first day of the tournament with a loss to host team South Carolina State (21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-18). ASU had three players record double-digit kills as Sierrea Caudle, Holt and Althea Russell each had 10. Sierra Caudle and Meinert also served up two service aces each. Holt also had seven blocks.
Saturday’s action started with the lost against the Citadel, which defeated the Lady Hornets 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 29-27) in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The Lady Hornets were led by Russell, who had seven kills, while Nina Saunders, Caudle and Meinert each added six kills. Meinert also had three service aces.
In their final tournament match against the North Carolina Central University, the Lady Hornets were defeated 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-23) by the Eagles.
Russell led the Lady Hornets once again by tallying 10 kills at the outside hitter position. The junior had 28 kills and hit .316 in the tournament while contributing two blocks.
Hall was selected to the All-Tournament team with 92 assists, eight kills and four blocks. Freshman teammate Roselande Corneille was honored as the Outstanding Libero of the tournament. Roselande had a total of 45 digs.
ASU returns to action, Friday, Sept. 25, to compete in the two-day Mississippi Valley Jesse Harris Volleyball Tournament in Itta Bena, Miss.