FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Fayetteville State swept Virginia Union in straight sets (25-17, 25-22, 25-13) on Saturday afternoon at Felton J. Capel Arena, improving to 8-4 overall and 4-1 in CIAA play. The Broncos used a balanced offensive effort and capitalized on Virginia Union's errors to secure the win0.
Symone Morris led the way for Fayetteville State with 9 kills and 10 digs, while
Giovanna Teixeira dished out 16 assists and added 7 digs.
Ramona Pulu chipped in 6 kills and 2 blocks, and
Amihan Johnson contributed 5 kills and a block.
In Set 1, Morris sparked the Broncos with three early kills, helping FSU build a quick lead. Virginia Union kept pace early but struggled with consistency, hitting .000 for the set. Fayetteville State pulled away late, closing the frame with a kill from
Milana Cvetkovski.
Set 2 was more competitive, with Virginia Union briefly taking the lead behind Madison Hill's service ace and a kill from Alana Simmons. However, the Broncos responded with a late surge, including kills from Pulu and Morris, and sealed the set 25-22 on consecutive Panther attack errors.
Fayetteville State dominated Set 3, hitting .333 as a team while limiting Virginia Union to just .031. The Broncos used a 6-0 run midway through the set to take control, with Teixeira contributing a kill and a service ace. The match ended on a kill from Teixeira, capping a strong all-around performance.
Virginia Union (5-9, 2-4 CIAA) was led by Aireanna Johnson with 7 kills and 3 aces, while Hill added 6 kills and Simmons had 10 digs. Ashlee Franklin paced the Panthers with 15 assists.
Fayetteville State outperformed Virginia Union in nearly every statistical category, including kills (38-19), assists (32-17), and hitting percentage (.218 to -.012). The Broncos also tallied 7 service aces and 5 blocks in the win.
After a few days of rest, Fayetteville State will travel to Orangeburg, S.C., to face Claflin University on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m.
