WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Shaw University volleyball put together its strongest day of the season Saturday, earning a pair of CIAA victories with a straight-set win over Johnson C. Smith before rallying past Bluefield State in five sets at Whitaker Gymnasium.
The Lady Bears opened the day with a dominant 3-0 victory over Johnson C. Smith, winning 25-11, 25-10 and 25-16. Shaw followed with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Bluefield State, taking the match 25-17, 23-25, 20-25, 25-15, 15-8.
The two victories improved Shaw to 4-12 overall and 4-4 in CIAA play.
Shaw 3, Johnson C. Smith 0
Shaw controlled the opening match from start to finish, hitting a season-best .449 with 39 kills and only four attack errors on 78 attempts. The Lady Bears improved offensively in each set, hitting .333 in the first, .500 in the second and .565 in the third. 236471
Leana Gould paced a balanced attack with nine kills and no errors on 20 swings for a .450 hitting percentage. Asia Olivera was nearly flawless, recording seven kills on eight attempts for an .875 percentage, while Tatiyana Stevenson added seven kills without an error on nine attacks and hit .778.
Layla Wood and Zainab Kareem each chipped in six kills.
Setter Justus Alexander directed the offense with 27 assists while adding 10 digs and an ace. Mary Barnes served three of Shaw's six aces and added four digs.
The Lady Bears wasted little time establishing control, jumping ahead 9-0 in the opening set before cruising to a 25-11 win. Shaw followed with a 25-10 victory in the second and completed the sweep with a 25-16 third set.
Johnson C. Smith was held to a .071 hitting percentage and 17 kills for the match. 236471
Shaw 3, Bluefield State 2
Shaw had to work considerably harder in the afternoon match.
The Lady Bears took the opening set 25-17 before Bluefield State responded with consecutive victories, 25-23 and 25-20, to take a 2-1 lead.
Facing defeat, Shaw produced its best volleyball of the match.
The Lady Bears hit .343 in the fourth set, committing just two errors while posting 14 kills to force a decisive fifth set with a 25-15 victory. Shaw then delivered an outstanding .571 hitting percentage in the fifth, finishing eight kills without an attack error on 14 attempts to close the match 15-8. 236818
Taelin Connolley led Shaw with 12 kills and added 17 digs, while Stevenson turned in another efficient performance with 10 kills on 17 attempts without an error for a .588 hitting percentage. Stevenson also recorded four service aces and four total blocks to finish with a team-high 17 points.
Wood and Nevaeh Ortiz each added nine kills. Ortiz also anchored the back row with a match-high 26 digs.
Alexander filled the stat sheet with 40 assists, 20 digs, an ace and a block assist. Jasmine Roberson added 11 assists and 12 digs, while Barnes finished with 10 digs.
Shaw totaled 63 kills, 58 assists, nine service aces, 90 digs and nine total blocks in the five-set victory. The Lady Bears hit .197 for the match while holding Bluefield State to .090.
The Lady Bears are back in action on Sunday 10/5/26 facing Claflin and Livingstone to close out the first CIAA Round Up of the season.
