The Talladega College men's volleyball team earned a 3-1 victory over Carolina University Friday in Winston-Salem, NC in its final match of the regular season. The sets ended
25-18, 22-25, 25-18, 25-15, equaling a four-frame Tornadoes' triumph.
Love-let Blake led the way offensively for the Tornadoes with a match-high 14 kills.
Nkoya Williams-Bailey followed closely behind with 12 of his own. Richard Hollomon III paced Talladega with 36 assists, a season high for the sophomore. Hollomon racked up 30 or more assists in all three matches of the weekend.
Defensively, Williams-bailey,
Andrea Tognazzo and
Mallik Foreman each had seven digs. Williams-Bailey had Talladega's only solo block, while
Denzel Pepper contributed four block assists. Foreman and
Aleksander Sobik each had three block assists.
In the first set, the Tornadoes and Bruins split the first 18 points. Talladega followed with a 4-0 run, and, after a Pepper kill, led 13-9. The Tornadoes' advantage grew as high as six at 19-13, but Carolina clawed back. The Bruins made it 22-18, but a Foreman kill, a Carolina attack error and a Foreman service ace clinched the opening frame for Talladega, 25-18.
The Bruins got revenge in the second set, claiming it 25-22, but that proved to be the final triumph they had. Carolina led 11-9 through the first 20 points of the third set, Talladega won six of the next seven, aided by two Williams-Bailey kills and four Carolina errors. After two Bruins points made it 15-14 Tornadoes, Talladega tallied five in a row to go ahead 20-14. Two kills by Blake, one by Sobik and a pair of Carolina attack errors saw the Tornadoes wrap up the third set 25-18, the same margin by which it one the first, and take a 2-1 lead.
The Bruins again had an early lead in the fourth frame, this time 9-8 through the first 17 points. Talladega then won 12 points in a row thanks to five kills, five Carolina errors and two aces. The Tornadoes claimed a 20-9 lead and, although the Bruins won six of the final 11 points, a Blake kill put the set away for Talladega 25-15 and put the match away 3-1.
Talladega improved to 8-7 on the season and clinched its first winning record in program history in just its second season of play. The Tornadoes closed the campaign with a 3-0 weekend in Winston-Salem, claiming two matches Friday before toppling the Bruins Saturday.
