Box Score
CHARLOTTE, NC – The Livingstone volleyball team picked up a key divisional victory Monday evening, downing the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls 3-1.
With the victory, the Blue Bears improved to 2-1 in the division, 5-4 in the conference and 6-8 overall.
Early in the first set the Golden Bulls got out to two small leads only to have Livingstone battle back. On a 4-0 run, the Blue Bears grabbed an 11-10 advantage, but Johnson C. Smith responded with a 6-0 run to regain a 16-11 edge. Again, the Blue Bears fought back, this time on a 6-1 run to tie the first set at 17-17. The two squads battled back and forth and were tied at 22-22 before Livingstone took the final three points of the set to win 25-22.
The second set belonged solely to the Golden Bulls. Livingstone held a slim 7-4 lead early, but a 7-0 run by the Golden Bulls gave them an 11-7 lead and they didn't look back. Johnson C. Smith took the second set 25-18.
Livingstone responded in the third set with its own dominating performance. An early 3-0 lead allowed the Blue Bears enough momentum to not allow the Golden Bulls a single lead in the third set. Johnson C. Smith trailed by only three at 9-6, but an 8-4 run opened up a 17-10 lead for the Blue Bears that was too much for the Golden Bulls. Livingstone took the third set 25-19.
The Blue Bears had to work a bit harder in the fourth and final set to put away the Golden Bulls. Livingstone grabbed an early 5-1 lead, but an 11-4 run by Johnson C. Smith gave it a 12-9 advantage. The Golden Bulls continued to lead by four at 18-14, but the Blue Bears rattled off five-straight points to grab a 19-18 lead. The two teams fought to a 22-22 tie, but the Blue Bears were able to take the last three points of the set to win 25-22 and take the match 3-1.
Junior Phylicia Egbuna continued her dominating performances as she finished with 23 kills and a .395 hitting percentage. Lakitta Hicks also recorded double-digit kills with 11 and a .318 hitting percentage. Hicks also finished with five total blocks.
The Blue Bears will step out of conference play on Wednesday when they travel to Denmark, SC to take on Voorhees College in a 5 p.m. contest.
