TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | The Florida A&M volleyball team will welcome South Alabama, Stetson, and Georgia Tech to the Al Lawson Center in its first home matches of the 2023 season. The Florida A&M Invitational presented by Sonny's BBQ begins Thursday (Sept. 7). 

All three matches will be live streamed on Rattlers+. Live stats will also be available. 

Florida A&M Invitational presented by Sonny's BBQ

Thursday 
vs. South Alabama | 6 p.m.

Friday 
vs. Stetson | 6 p.m.

Sunday
vs. Georgia Tech | 2 p.m. 

The Last Outing
FAMU (1-6) visited the First Coast (Sept. 1-2) for tournament action, where it earned its first victory of the season in a 3-2 comeback over Northern Arizona. Results from the Jacksonville Tournament also included a 3-2 setback versus The Citadel and a 3-0 decision to Jacksonville. 

Tournament Highlights 

•    Emerald Jacobs and Brooke Lynn Watts secured double-doubles versus NAU and The Citadel; the two respectively manage three and four on the season  
•    Brooke Hudson recorded a season-high 32 digs against Northern Arizona; she also amassed her 1,000th career dig in the match
•    London Hatch notched a double-double versus NAU with season-highs in assists (32) and digs (17); the former ties for fourth-most in the SWAC this season

Conference Rankings
FAMU currently leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference in the following categories:
Assists Per Set | 10.31
Digs Per Set | 14.96
Hitting Percentage | .199
Kills Per Set | 11.19
Team Assists | 268
Team Digs | 389
Team Kills | 291
Team Total Attacks | 888

Individually, Brooke Hudson guides the SWAC and sits 24th in the nation in digs per set (5.12). The Preseason Libero of the Year also ranks fifth in the NCAA in total digs (133). Brooke Lynn Watts, the Preseason Player of the Year, paces the conference in five categories: kills per set (3.31), total kills (86), points (94), attacks per set (9.92), and total attacks (258 / 25th in the NCAA).

SWAC Weekly Honors
Brooke Lynn Watts and Brooke Hudson collected the SWAC's first weekly honors (Aug. 31). Watts was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week, while Hudson was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week. 

Recapping Another Historic Season 
• Florida A&M claimed its second Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament title in a 3-0 victory over the top-seed, Alabama State – the two were crowned co-regular season champions with mirror 15-1 conference records 
• The team finished the 2022 season 21-13 overall, further highlighted by a 12-match winning spell and 15 straight-set victories 
• Head coach Gokhan Yilmaz compiled 17 victories at Charlotte (2014-15) and currently manages 68 at the helm of FAMU; Yilmaz enters his sixth season having coached Florida A&M to back-to-back 20 win seasons with a pair of SWAC titles 
• FAMU swept conference accolades with the Player of the Year (Dominique Washington), Setter of the Year (Irem Ucar), Libero of the Year (Brooke Hudson), and Newcomer of the Year (Brooke Lynn Watts); Hudson and Watts are set to return this upcoming season