UAPB Volleyball Block Party Lifts Lady Lions Over Southern
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Lady Lions picked up their second straight conference victory defeating Southern University on Sunday night by a score of 3-1 (25-15, 25-23, 30-32, 25-15).
The Lady Lions offensively handled Southern with 52 total kills. Zyonn Smith led the game with 14 kills in the contest. The freshman duo of Zykia Jones and Jayden James added to the kill total with nine and eight kills, respectively.
“You have to have poise under pressure, and we stepped up and played hard when it was time.” said head coach Chelsey Lucas following the win. “You have to give credit to Southern, they’re a tough team. We don’t want to be average, we don’t want to just be good. We want to be great. As a player, as a coach, and as a team.”
UAPB played outstanding defense, posting 17 blocks in the match. Reigning Blocker of the Year Haley Gomez had a season-high eight blocks, and Kori Diego nearly matched Gomez with seven blocks of her own.
Leading the Lady Lions in assists was Nikole Akamine with 23 assists, followed by Vanessa Collins with 13 assists.
Smith led the game in digs with 14 and Nyah Ellis added to the total with 11 digs.
