The Alcorn State University (ASU) Lady Braves (0-9,0-0) Volleyball team spent three days in Memphis, Tennessee, competing in the Carrie Yerty Classic. Alcorn faced Memphis, Mississippi State and Boston College at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
ALCORN VS MEMPHIS
The Lady Braves started the Classic on Thursday, Sept. 10, against the University of Memphis. Alcorn fell in three sets, 6-25, 17-25 and 17-25. After a slow first set, ASU played better in the final two by recording 12 kills in the second set and 10 in the third.
Rylan Jones had a strong game for Alcorn with a team high 14 kills. Cristin Webb added 4 kills, while Tomoni Giddings led the defense with 11 digs. Daylin Saiki helped run the offense with 19 assists and 3 digs.
ALCORN VS MISSISSIPPI STATE
The next day, the Lady Braves faced the Mississippi State University (MSU) Bulldogs. The Bulldogs won the match in three sets, 25-8, 25-19 and 25-16. Alcorn struggled early but started to find a better rhythm as the game went on. ASU improved their hitting percentage in each set, going from .032 in the first set to .100 in the second and .200 in the third. Cristin Webb led Alcorn with 10 kills and hit .304. Jones finished with 9 kills, while Courtney Carter had 8 kills and 10 digs. Giddings led the team with 13 digs. Saiki finished with 23 assists, 9 digs and 1 service ace.
ALCORN VS BOSTON COLLEGE
Alcorn finished the Classic on Saturday, Sept. 12, against Boston College. This was the Lady Braves’ closest game of the weekend. Boston College won in three sets, but Alcorn stayed close with scores of 25-21, 25-20 and 25-18. The match had 15 tie scores and five lead changes. Eight of those ties came in the third set.
Jones led Alcorn with 10 kills while Carter was right behind her with 9 kills and 9 digs. Webb added 6 kills and 2 service aces, while Giddings finished with 11 digs. Saiki had her highest assist total of the tournament with 26 assists. She also added 5 digs and 1 service ace.
The Lady Braves finished the Classic 0-3 but showed improvement throughout the weekend. Alcorn will look to use the experience from Memphis as they continue throughout the 2026 season.
Alcorn’s next contest will be against the University of Alabama on Wednesday, September 16th at 6:00 pm.
