Oct. 6, 2011
Final Stats
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - As the Fayetteville State Lady Broncos warm up before a match, they count their stretches by saying, "One, facial. Two, facial. Three, facial," and so on.
While "facial" may not be a technical volleyball term, seasoned players are always on the lookout for one. That special moment - for them, anyway - when they jump high for the kill, swing their arm back and hit the ball with maximum authority right into an opponent's face for the point.
Certainly, the actual technical term "kill" may seem harsh enough. But a "facial" is to a volleyball player what a thunderous alley-oop dunk is to a basketball player. It doesn't happen every night, but when it does, it's remembered.
Fayetteville State's Nikita Cheadle got one to remember.
Cheadle (So., Hope Mills, N.C.), who led the Lady Broncos with 12 kills in an easy straight-set victory over Livingstone, rose and swung her arm, sending the ball down with tremendous authority - right into Livingstone's Ariel Moton's face midway through the second set.
That one play essentially said it all. The oohs and ahhs from the crowd just rubbed it in all the more.
Fayetteville State (14-10, 10-2, 6-0), which remained unbeaten and in first place of the CIAA's Southern Division, needed only 59 minutes to dispatch Livingstone (6-9, 5-5, 2-3) 25-11, 25-17 and 25-11 on Thursday night at Felton J. Capel Arena in Fayetteville.
LaToya Harvin (Fr., Bell Glade, Fla.) added 10 kills while JaMisha Jordan (So., Fayetteville, N.C.) led all players with 31 assists to go with four digs and two service aces. Ifeyinwa Nwokolo (Jr., Greensboro, N.C.) added eight kills while Cheadle and Joi Emanuel (Jr., Charlotte, N.C.) had a game-high three service aces each. Fayetteville State, which ranks among the top 10 in the nation in service aces after leading that category a year ago, had eight more aces on Thursday night.
The Lady Broncos have won 11 of their last 14 matches and travel to UNC Pembroke for a nonconference match on Oct. 13. Fayetteville State defeated the Lady Braves in four sets on Sept. 14. The Lady Broncos return to CIAA play at Winston-Salem State on Oct. 18 before returning home to face Coker on Oct. 20.
