Morgan Beard
Staff Writer
The highflying Lady Tigers volleyball team competed against the University of Southern Mississippi on Sept. 8 in the T. B. Ellis Gym.
Even though the Jackson State University Lady Tigers did not leave with a win, they were able to pull two close sets in the 3-0 (25-23, 25-9, 25-20) loss to the Golden Eagles.
The Lady Tigers were able to hang with the Golden Eagles in set one, either trailing right behind or managing to tie. In set two, JSU allowed mistake after mistake to hold them back and were never able to recover to take the win.
In set three, it was anyone’s game but USM was able to capitalize on a couple of errors to win the overall game.
Kiana Shelton and Taija Thomas led the Lady Tigers offensively. Shelton, a sophomore art major from Montgomery, Ala., recorded 5 attacks with 9 total for a .556 attack percentage and also she record 7-block assist. Thomas recorded 9 attacks with 24 total attacks for a .125 attack percentage and also record 4 block assist. Markayisha Masani and Tyler Moorer led the team defensively with 3 digs a piece. Jenna Siddiqui led in assists with 17.
Assistant Coach Joelle Mafo plans to have a productive season.
“We have big expectations for the season even though we got off on a slow start. We just need to make some corrections and prepare for our conference,” said Coach Mafo.
Some students at JSU are pleased with the Lady Tigers’ performance and are proud to support the team.
“It’s nice to see Tigers young and old come out and support,” said Erik Payton, a junior political science major Chicago, Ill.
Daniel Johnson believes the Lady Tigers played a competitive game against USM.
“It was very interesting that we played Southern Miss and our performers were good and I believe that we can turn this season around,” said Johnson, a sophomore biology major from Jackson, Miss.
According to JSU Sports Media Relations, Taija Thomas was named to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette All-Tournament Team, after leading the Jackson State offense with 44 kills (3.38 kills-per-set) over four matches and 13 sets. Thomas recorded a total of 116 attacks with a .259 attack percentage.
The Lady Tigers will play the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State University on Sept. 16.
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