The Lady Rattlers have built an exceptional legacy, racking up 17 titles: 13 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and 4 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Recently, the Preseason Selection Body held a vote using an official point-based system, conducted by Southwestern Athletic Conference head coaches and sports information directors. Florida A&M’s volleyball was favored to be the preseason favorite.
“Since we won last 4 of the 5 championships, everybody is trying to catch up with us, and that creates more competition,” Head coach Gokhan Yilmaz said.
[It] also creates more opportunities to lose some of the matches. So, we just, every year we go in, our goal is to restart and refresh instead of relying on the past success”, Yilmaz said.
The Lady Rattlers dominated within their first year in the SWAC, winning the championship title. After winning back-to-back SWAC titles, the Lady Rattlers are competing for a third
straight title. The last time they kept a consecutive championship streak was a nine-year run in the early 2000s.
Bengisu Kazaalar expressed how great a feeling it is to work around hardworking people who don’t see losing as an option.
“When I was looking at FAMU, one of the biggest things that caught my attention was the winning culture,” Kazaalar said.
Kazaalar is a Senior who transferred from Xavier University of Louisiana.
“Winning two championships in a row shows that this team knows how to work together. I wanted to be around players who have the same goals as me and who push each other to get better every day.”
The athlete emphasized the determination and hard work the team puts in to stay so consistent.
“I feel like FAMU’s volleyball team has an insane level of discipline; the amount of work and consistency these girls put in is mind-blowing. Even during their most challenging season, they still finished 14-17, compared to the 20-plus-win seasons we’ve become accustomed to seeing from them,” former FAMU athletics marketing intern and university alum, Elijah Ahvella, said.
FAMU volleyball is 6- 9 and is set to play Mississippi Valley State on Friday, Oct 2nd, 2026.
