TALLADEGA, Ala. – The Talladega College men's volleyball team closed out the 2024 campaign with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 26-24) win over visiting Truett McConnell University tonight. The Tornadoes finished the season at 4-23 while the Bears closed out the year at 6-19.
The Bears took an early 6-2 lead in the opening set, but the Tornadoes were able to climb their way back into it to tie things at nine. The lead didn't last long as the Bears were able to tally back-to-back points to retake the lead and go up, 11-9. Talladega responded by putting together a 5-0 run to grab a 14-11 lead for its first lead of the set. Both teams went back and forth to find themselves tied at 18, but that would be the last time as Talladega used a 7-1 run to take the set, 25-19.
Talladega used its momentum from set one to take a 9-5 lead in set two. The Tornadoes were able to push their lead to 15-7, but the Bears were able to come within five to trail 23-18. Talladega's lead was too much to overcome as it went on to win 25-20 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Looking to close the match out in set three, both teams found themselves tied at four early on. Neither one gained much ground as they ended up tied seven more times with the last one being at, 19-19. The Bears grabbed a 21-19 lead after back-to-back points, but Talladega used a 4-0 run to take a 23-21 lead. The Bears responded and tied things at 23 before tying things again at 24. Needing to win by two, Talladega recorded back-to-back kills to win the set 26-24 and go on to win the match, 3-0.
Ahmon Catlin and Millik Foreman each finished with a team-high 11 kills for Talladega. Teammate
Hugo Marques finished with eight kills while registering a team-high .615 hitting percentage. He also had a match-high three aces while tallying 10 digs.
Ivory Smith collected a high 11 digs to pace the Tornadoes while
Elijah Foster finished with a team-high 30 assists.
Denzel Pepper finished with two solo blocks and five block assists while collecting five digs and two kills for the Tornadoes.
