GRAMBLING, La. – The Ladies used a big rally in set two to tie the match, but the Tigers took set three and four to close out the match as Centenary (14-15) fell to Grambling State (9-21) 25-22, 24-26, 25-17, 25-19 Wednesday night, October 24.
Trailing by a set and 24-21 in the second frame, Centenary repelled a trio of set points and scored five unanswered to tie the match. A kill from Shyann Pisano put freshman Rachel Demerjian on serve. An ace and another kill from Pisano tied the set at 24. An attack error and a kill from freshman Alyssa Davis tied the match.
Demerjian finished the match with 22 assists, 10 digs, and three aces.
After Grambling State took set three, Centenary took a 14-8 lead in the fourth. Up 9-8, a kill from freshman Lauren Kelley put the Ladies on serve. Seniors Makenzie Shaw and Michaela Brantley teamed up for an assisted block before another Kelley kill. A solo block by Brantley and a Grambling State error put the Ladies up six.
Kelley finished the match with 10 kills to lead Centenary.
Later in the set with the Ladies up 18-14, Grambling State ended the match with an 11-1 run. Javieanna Jones and Talicia Lang recorded kills and two aces by Kevreion Ward tied the set. Kills by Jones and Lang, around a Centenary hitting error, followed by a pair of Grambling State blocks, pushed the home team's lead to five. After a Pisano kill stopped the run, kills from Jones and Lang ended the match.
Ward and Chasity Nicks led Grambling State with 14 kills each, while Jones and Lang added nine each. Erineka Mollere contributed nine digs.
Centenary returns to action this weekend, October 27-28, when it hosts Austin College, Schreiner, Southwestern, Texas Lutheran, and #10 Trinity for a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Crossover. The Ladies will celebrate Senior Day Sunday before its 2 p.m. match against Schreiner.