Florida A&M

ITTA BENA, Miss. – LaDonna Trantham finished with 20 kills, and Florida A&M ran away with the last two sets to beat Mississippi Valley State by a score of 3-1 in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Volleyball on Friday afternoon inside Harrison HPER Complex in Itta Bena, Mississippi. The Rattlers took the match on scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-11, 25-14.
 
Florida A&M (7-9, 2-1 SWAC) hit .292 as a team, while the Delta Devils were limited to just a .091 attack mark and committed 21 errors overall.
 
In the first set, FAMU trailed 5-3 before scoring six straight points.
 
A block by Sydney Whitfield – the reigning SWAC Offensive Player of the Week, and senior middle blocker Farah Farooq tied it at 5-5, and four consecutive kills from Farooq, LaDonna Trantham, Sanford and Farooq again made it 9-5 with Victoria Santana serving. Setter Bengisu Kazazlar later served two aces in a five-point burst that stretched the lead from 15-11 to 20-11. Iyonnie Sanford had five kills in the set without an error.
 
Mississippi Valley State (1-12, 0-4 SWAC) answered in the second set, which was tied nine times. For the visitors, the second set continues to plague FAMU head coach Gokhan Yilmaz and his side over the past few weeks.
 
With the Delta Devilettes up 16-15, they scored five straight points – four of them on Dashaun Pinesette's serve, to lead 21-15. FAMU rallied from 24-18 down with four straight points, including a Kazazlar ace, to get within 24-22, but Kameryn Browne finished it with a kill.
 
The third set turned on one long stretch.
 
MVSU led 4-2 early-on before the Orange And Green scored 13 consecutive points, 12 of them with Trantham serving. Her two aces were part of the run, which also included five Delta Devilettes attack errors and two bad sets. In all, MVSU had nine attack errors against six kills in the set, respectfully.
 
FAMU led most of the fourth set and put it away with another six-point run, from 17-12 to 23-12, with Kazazlar on-serve for the Rattlers. Farooq and Tamia Coleman combined on a block during the stretch. Trantham had nine kills in the set while hitting .533, while the hosts were held to an even .000 clip.
 
Whitfield closed it with a kill.
 
Trantham hit .486 on 37 swings with only two errors and added two aces in the process. For the Homewood, Illinois native, it was her third time on the season accumulating 20 ore kills in a single match, and her first of the SWAC season, respectively.
 
Also playing well for the Orange and Green was Sanford had 13 kills while hitting .423. It was Sanford's third time this season topping double-digit kills in a match. Farooq, who had eight kills and a team- and match-high three block assists, was aided in the lineup by Whitfield, who had seven kills, three aces and 11 digs.
 
Kazazlar ran the offense with 21 assists and three aces, and libero Victoria Santana handled 26 serve receptions without an error.
 
Taylor Wooten led Mississippi Valley State with 10 kills, and Aubrie Walker added eight while hitting .375. Erin Mims had 13 assists from her setter position on the floor.
 
FAMU continues its "Magnolia State" run on Sunday, Oct. 4, when the Rattlers visit Jackson State at 1 p.m. EDT (Noon CDT) in Jackson, Mississippi. The match will be streamed on SWAC TV.
 
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