Ambassadors Take Evenly-Matched Contest Over Lady Bearcats In Five

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. – The Rust College volleyball program suffered a setback against Oakwood University for the first time since the team joined the GCAC, alternating wins in the first four sets before the Ambassadors found a way to pull it out in the fifth set, 15-11.

The Basics:

• Score
  • Oakwood – 3
  • Rust – 2
    • 25-16, 14-25, 25-14, 21-25, 11-15

• Records
  • Rust (4-16, 2-5 Gulf Coast)
  • Oakwood (4-8, 2-5 Gulf Coast)

• Location
  • Holly Springs, Mississippi – W.A. McMillan Center

• Series History (Since 2021)
  • Rust Leads 4-1 (80%)

• Winning Streak (Since 2021)
  • Oakwood (W1) | Rust's Last Win: October 9, 2022 (3-1)

Rust Top Performers:

• Deja Campbell set a new career-high with four blocks (one solo) to tie for the team lead, notched double-figure digs (15, 3.00 p/s) for the fifth time in 2023 and smacked eight kills (1.60 p/s) in a well-balanced effort.

• Gabriella Gabriel had a fantastic night on the attack, hitting .286 with a personal/club-best 16 kills (3.20 p/s) over 42 attempts.

• Kennedi Coleman also shattered her previous benchmarks for both assists and digs, going for 18 (3.60 p/s) and four, respectively.

• Markeoni Thomas went into the double-digits in kills and points for the first time in her career, blasting 10 kills and logging 11 points.

• Annie Narvaez topped the defense with 24 digs (4.80 p/s) for her ninth match of ten-plus while Saraih Taylor notched double-digit assists (24, 4.80 p/s) for the 13th time in 20 matches this year (65%).

• Brianna Moore tied with Campbell for the squad's title of top blocker on the evening with a campaign-most four blocks plus her first multi-kill outing (2) and Avani Gill contributed a season-high five digs (1.00 p/s) as well.

Notes:

• The Lady Bearcats fell to 6-2 (.750) overall mark and 3-2 (.600) in conference play over the past three seasons in five-set matches.

Next:

• The Blue and White host Philander Smith in the second match of its season-long five-game homestand on Friday at 5 p.m. in the Kinzell Lawson Gymnasium.