Florida A&M

NEW ORLEANS – Sydney Whitfield put down 24 kills and finished with a double-double performance to lead Florida A&M to a 3-1 victory over LSU New Orleans on Saturday at the Human Performance Center, with set scores of 23-25, 25-21, 25-22 and 25-18. The match was the final of the weekend for both teams at the Pelican Invitational hosted by LSU New Orleans.
 
Whitfield hit .354 on 48 swings, added a service ace and two block assists, while tallying the double-double with a team-high matching 13 digs in the process. Farah Farooq contributed 14 points on nine kills, one solo block and six block assists for the Rattlers. Iyonnie Sanford added eight kills and three assisted blocks, while LaDonna Trantham had 11 kills and 11 digs for a double-double of her own.
 
The match began as a tight back-and-forth.
 
The teams were tied 15 times in the opening set, and FAMU (5-8) hit .355 as a team.
 
But LSU New Orleans (2-10) held the edge at the finish.
 
The Rattlers led 21-19 late before the Privateers closed on a 6-2 run, capped by a service ace from Ryan Williams, and took the set 25-23. Williams had six kills in the set and finished with a match-high 17.
 
FAMU's response came in the second set.
 
LSU New Orleans jumped to a 6-2 lead, but the Rattlers answered with a five-point run behind Farooq's serve, powered by a Boston kill and a Coleman-Boston double block, and went up 15-11. They led the rest of the way and closed out a 25-21 win when Armie Hall's attack found the net.
 
As a unit, the Rattlers hit .253 as a team, well above the Privateers' .167, and outblocked them, 13-8, respectively.
 
The third set proved to be a turning point in the match.
 
The Rattlers opened with a 6-0 run, fueled by three attack errors from Nyakuak Lual and two double-block stuffs from Farooq and Trantham, and pushed the lead as high as nine points at 19-10. The Privateers rallied to within five, but Whitfield finished the set with a kill for a 25-22 win.
 
Overall, the Privateers hit just .056 in the set.
 
FAMU closed out the match in the fourth.
 
Kazazlar served three aces during a four-point stretch that put the Rattlers ahead 6-2. The Privateers whittled the deficit to as few as two, but FAMU answered with four straight points, including three consecutive kills from Whitfield, to take a 19-14 lead. Whitfield added two more kills on the final points, and a Lual attack error ended it at 25-18.
 
Bengisu Kazazlar ran the offense with 25 assists, three aces and 13 digs for the Orange and Green. Meanwhile, Makenzie Taylor added 19 assists, and libero Sydney Humes chipped in 10 assists of her own and a team-high matching 13 digs. Tamia Coleman anchored the net with six block assists, and Brandi Boston added five kills and three block assists.
 
For LSU New Orleans, Ava Frerman had 11 kills, 12.5 points and 9 digs, and Hall added 10 kills. Rylie Hallman had 18 assists and 11 digs, and libero Mia Lopez led all players with 19 digs.
 
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