Rattlers Ready for a Weekend That Could Define the SWAC Race

10/29/2026 9:42:00 AM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida A&M volleyball heads into the final weekend of October as one of the hottest teams in the SWAC. The Rattlers are 14-9 overall and 9-1 in conference play, and they have won eight straight matches. Friday brings a trip to Alabama State, with first serve at 7 p.m. ET. Sunday brings the one circled in orange and green since late September, a rematch at Alabama A&M at 1 p.m. ET, streaming on Bulldog All-Access.

Eight in a Row, and Not by Accident

The streak is built on a team that is outplaying the league at both ends of the net. In SWAC matches, FAMU is hitting .282 while holding opponents to .154, a 128-point swing in hitting percentage. The Rattlers average 13.76 kills per set in conference play against 10.62 for their opponents.

It has not been a stretch of close calls. Since the five-set loss to Alabama A&M on Sept. 27, FAMU has beaten Mississippi Valley, Jackson State, Bethune-Cookman (twice), Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling, Alcorn and Southern. Five of those eight wins came in either three sets or in four sets on the road. Against Alcorn on Sunday, FAMU hit .448 (47 kills, 8 errors on 87 swings), the best mark of its season.

The Firepower: Trantham and Whitfield

Few attack duos in the league match LaDonna Trantham and Sydney Whitfield. Trantham leads the team with 299 kills (3.60 per set), and in SWAC play she is up to 3.86 per set. Whitfield has 277 kills at 3.18 per set, and her conference numbers are even better: 3.80 per set on a .311 hitting percentage.

Both can take over a match. Trantham piled up 26 kills against Hampton and 25 at Bethune-Cookman. Whitfield hit .524 with 25 kills against Alabama State in September and added 24 at LSU New Orleans.

Farah Farooq is the efficient third option, hitting a team-best .360 with 156 kills and 73 total blocks. Iyonnie Sanford adds 132 kills and 47 blocks, which gives opposing blockers nowhere to hide.

A Wall at the Net

Tamia Coleman leads the team with 85 total blocks (0.96 per set), with Farooq right behind at 73. As a team, FAMU averages 2.08 blocks per set to opponents' 1.87, and it has committed only 8 block errors all season against 20 for its opponents. That discipline shows up in tight matches.

Orchestrating It All

Makenzie Taylor runs the offense with 501 assists (5.83 per set). Bengisu Kazazlar brings a second-setter look when needed, with 259 assists on a .407 assist percentage, and she leads the team with 30 aces.
In the back row, Victoria Santana (173 digs) and Sydney Humes (135 digs, 2.50 per set) keep the offense supplied. Santana has been especially strong in SWAC play at 3.09 digs per set.

Friday: At Alabama State (7 p.m. ET)

Team preview. The Hornets are 6-17 overall and 4-6 in the SWAC, but they are better than the record suggests, and they come in with momentum of their own. Alabama State has won four of its last five conference matches, including a 3-1 win over Alabama A&M on Oct. 21 that ended 35-33 in the fourth set. Kaylen Hines is the engine. She leads the Hornets with 287 kills (3.38 per set) and is up to 3.64 per set in conference play. Alexis Williams adds 155 kills on a .251 hitting percentage, and she averages 2.95 kills per set against SWAC opponents.

Setter Kamrynn Clay is one of the busiest in the country at 8.89 assists per set (756 total), and Mirra Riddle anchors the back row with a team-best 4.05 digs per set. Alabama State is 5-1 at home, so this will not be a walk.

Why FAMU is ready. The Rattlers own the edge in the numbers that decide matches: a .228 hitting percentage to Alabama State's .161, and 2.08 blocks per set to the Hornets' 1.31. Alabama State has hit .161 for the season while allowing opponents to hit .253, a gap that works in FAMU's favor. FAMU also knows this opponent. The Rattlers beat the Hornets 3-1 in Tallahassee on Sept. 25, when Whitfield's 25-kill, .524 night powered a .405 team effort, FAMU's second-best mark of the season. Expect Trantham and Whitfield to put heavy pressure on a Hornets block that has just 111 total blocks on the year.

Sunday: At Alabama A&M (1 p.m. ET, Bulldog All-Access)

Team preview. Alabama A&M is 16-9 overall and 8-2 in the SWAC, and it is perfect at home at 8-0. The Bulldogs hit .237 as a team while holding opponents to .177. Rayishon Jackman is the star, with 289 kills (3.18 per set) and a team-best 294 digs. Gerren Tomlin adds 255 kills, Carys Sanabria hits .326 and leads the team with 87 total blocks, and Cherrish Robinson contributes 71 blocks. Briana Smith (475 assists) and Kaydee Smith (455) split setting duties, and libero Kelani Talakai has 215 digs. The Bulldogs have dropped two conference matches, at Texas Southern and at Alabama State, so they have shown they can be had.

The rematch. Alabama A&M handed FAMU its only conference loss, a five-set classic on Sept. 27 (25-21, 16-25, 26-28, 25-22, 15-13). Third set went 28-26 and the fifth was decided by two points. FAMU outblocked the Bulldogs 16 to 11 in that match and put up 65 digs and 46 kills against a team that hit .229.

The Rattlers have spent the month getting better. They head to Normal with the SWAC's best conference record on the line, and a win would put them in a commanding position at the top of the standings with the Bulldogs one game back at 8-2.

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