FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Talladega College women's volleyball team closed out the ONSET Invitational with a split on day two. The Tornadoes earned a 3-0 win against Indiana University East to start the day before falling to Aquinas College (Mich.) 3-1 in the afternoon match.

Talladega (1-3) kicks off the home part of the schedule on Friday, August 30 when it hosts the Talladega College Tournament starting at 8 a.m.

Match 1: Talladega 3, Bethel 0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-19)
The Tornadoes took an early 2-0 lead in the opening set but the Red Wolves answered with three straight points to go up, 3-2. Talladega responded with a 5-0 run to reclaim the lead at 7-3, but IUE attempted to claw its way back and came within three to trail, 15-12. The Tornadoes never looked back after that and took the set 25-21 for its first lead of the season in a match.

With the momentum on its side, Talladega jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in set two. The Tornadoes were able to put a 12-4 run together to push their lead to 19-7 and it was enough to go on for a 25-16 win and take a 2-0 lead.

Talladega looked to close the match out entering set three, but the Red Wolves (0-5) had other plans as they took a 3-0 lead to start. The lead didn't last long as the Tornadoes tallied the next four points straight to go up, 4-3.  Both teams went back and forth for most of the set where they found themselves tied seven different times before Talladega used a 3-0 run to take a 19-16 lead. The Tornadoes closed the set and match out on a 6-3 run to earn its first win of the season.

Dyani Steward paced all Talladega players with 10 kills while adding seven digs and an ace. Teammates Re'na Ashley, Zariah Messick, and Josephine Gates each finished with six kills apiece.

Giovana Costarelli finished with a team-high 12 assists while adding four digs and an ace.

Match 2: Talladega 1, Aquinas 3 (16-25, 15-25, 25-21, 16-25)
Aquinas (5-0) posted a 9-4 lead in set one, but Talladega worked its way back into trail 12-8 following a 4-3 run. AQ was able to keep the Tornadoes at arm's length with the score getting no closer than five points twice. Aquinas claimed the opening set with a 25-16 win and took the lead in the match.

Talladega took a 4-1 lead to start set two before AQ worked its way back to trail, 4-3. Aquinas used a 5-1 run to go up 8-5 before back-to-back kills from Marcely Perez and Dyani Steward snapped the AQ run and made it 8-7 Aquinas. Both teams exchanged points with no one gaining much ground on the other until Aquinas put together a 5-0 run to take a 15-9 lead. After that Aquinas closed out the set with a 25-15 win to go up 2-0 in the match.

Looking to force a four set, Talladega found themselves going back and forth at the start of set three to end up tied at eight. A Talladega kill by Kortni Johnson and an ace from Briyith Echiverns put the Tornadoes in front, 10-9. Talladega was able to build off that and push its lead to 14-9 before back-to-back points by Aquinas cut the lead to three. The Tornadoes pushed the lead to 19-17 and after that never looked back as they took the set 25-21 and cut the lead to 2-1 in the match.

With the momentum shift to Talladega's side, Aquinas looked to close the match out in set four as it jumped out to a 6-2 lead. The Tornadoes tallied three straight points to make it a one-point lead, Aquinas strung together a 10-2 run to push the lead to, 16-7. Talladega attempted to chip away at the lead but it wasn't enough as AQ went on to a 25-16 win and took the match, 3-1.

Talladega's Marcelly Perez finished with a team-high nine kills, while Gates added eight, and Zariah Messick tallied six.

Costarelli registered 22 assists for the match while tacking on eight digs. Teammate Echeverri finished with a team-high 21 digs.

Both Stells Lukaszuk and Steward each had three aces.