On Friday, the Florida A&M volleyball team opened SWAC play this season on a disappointing note, falling 3 sets to 1 to Jackson University at home in the Al Lawson Multipurpose Center.
Big performances from Brandi Boston and Farah Farooq helped the Rattlers dominate around the net, as they won the block battle in the first set, 4-0.
Tonight was yet another stellar performance from the 2x SWAC Newcomer of the Week, freshman La’Donna Trantham.
Her back-to-back points around the middle of the first frame led to a Tiger timeout with FAMU Leading 13-19 .
She was also able to seal the set with a kill.
From this point on, things went downhill for the Rattlers.
Sets 2-4 seemed eerily similar to each other, with JSU taking an early lead and establishing control throughout.
Aside from rallies led by Trantham, Farooq, and Tamia Coleman, the final three sets were firmly in the grasp of the Tigers, leaving the Rattlers to routinely play “catch-up”.
“I think it comes down to our ability to score points, “Head Coach Gokhan Yilmaz said.
“If you look at the kills, they have 57, we have 38,” he continued, “..we need to be able to score points to be competitive.”
Yilmaz also stated the Rattlers’ need for improvement in communication.
“It has been a challenge,” he said.
He plans on making consistent communication an emphasis in the upcoming practices, so that the team can stay connected during the ebbs and flows of sets.
When asked about the positives that he found in Friday’s game, Coach Yilmaz found a number of bright spots in the first set.
“It (Set one) shows that we can really start tough. “
‘’We had the highest number of kills with 11…and hit 31%, very good hitting percentage..” Yilmaz said.
He hopes that his squad can build on these positives moving forward as Friday’s loss moves FAMU to 2-10 on the season, dropping their 5th straight contest in a row.
The Rattlers look to turn it around and get their first SWAC win at home on Sunday against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils at 1pm.
