TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Stillman College volleyball team rallied to force a fourth set against the Oakwood University Ambassadors Thursday night in Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference competition, but the Tigers fell short and dropped the match in Birthright Alumni Hall, 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 16-25, 26-24).
The Tigers fall to 2-9 on the season and 1-2 in HBCUAC play, while the Ambassadors improve to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in conference matches.
Ava Cameron turned in 16 kills on an efficient .310 attack percentage and four blocks, while
Katelyn Lawson finished right behind her with 13 kills on a .333 attack percentage, and Domnieshia Jones posted 18 assists and nine kills.
Kelis Conley led with 20 assists and four service aces.
Zoey Sales dominated the back row with 25 digs.
The Tigers held a 16-8 advantage in the opening game after a service ace from Sales, but the Ambassadors stormed back with a 17-5 run, including scoring the final six points of the set to claim a 25-21 win.
Stillman jumped ahead 4-1 in the second set following an attack error by Oakwood, but the visitors took control and went up 11-8. The Tigers closed the gap to 14-12 after an ace from Jones. However, the Ambassadors kept Stillman at arm's length on the way to a 25-19 second set win.
A kill from Cameron in set three extended the Stillman advantage to 16-11 in the game. This time the Tigers did not let off the gas and built a 23-14 lead following a kill from Lawson. An Oakwood service error clinched a fourth set as the Tigers won 25-16.
In a highly competitive fourth set, Oakwood built a 15-12 lead, but after trading points back and forth, Stillman claimed a 21-20 lead following a Cameron kill. Oakwood briefly regained the lead at 23-22, but Lawson tied the match with a kill. Morgan Bone's kill put the Ambassadors on the edge of a win, but another Lawson kill tied the match 24-24. From there, Oakwood scored two unanswered points to claim the set 26-24 and the match 3-1.
Stillman College has one more home match this week as the Tigers host Fisk University in HBCUAC action on Saturday, September 27, starting at 1 p.m.
