Volleyball team brings out the broom

Florida A&M Volleyball team in its win against Alabama A&M. Photo courtesy: FAMU Athletics

Once again this autumn, Rattler fans were in the Lawson Center for only an hour.

That’s all the time the Florida A&M volleyball team needed to record its 11th sweep of the season, a 25-21, 25-9, 25-15 win over Alabama A&M.

Jasmine Robinson provided the early spark that FAMU needed on Monday. The freshman had three straight kills in the first set, and her service ace put the Rattlers up 15-11. For the 25-21 score, she even slipped the set point by the Bulldogs.

Jessica Myers knew the match was over after the first set.

“After the first set, I knew that would be the closest one,” Myers said. “Alabama A&M had no chance.”

FAMU scored 10 unanswered points in the second set with Dominique Turner in the line, and its redshirt-freshman libero delivered five service aces on her own. The squad held Alabama A&M to nine points in the set, but the sweep required a little more effort.

Jeremiah Pruitte, a FAMU student and enthusiastic fan, said he’s excited about how the team has been performing.

“Our team is the best in the nation, I try to support them as much as possible,” he said. “Dominique Washington, she’s really like that,” he added.

Alabama A&M led by two points for the majority of the game, with a final score of 13-11, until FAMU showed why it is one of the finest offensive teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Rattlers went on a 13-1 run to win the final set — and the match.

Dominique Washington, Jasmine Robinson and Karina Pressoir all scored in double digits. Washington also added 10 digs to her tally, giving her back-to-back double-doubles.

Brooke Thomas believes this team has the potential to go a long way in then post-season.

“We’ve been blowing teams out all season. The teams we’ve played have not been bad, we’re just better,” Thomas said.

“We were supposed to beat Alabama State. We were up 2-0 and they came back,” she said. “This was a good bounce-back match,” she added.

Mississippi Valley State (Oct. 23) and Jackson State (Oct. 25) round out the Rattlers’ seven-game home-stand. The meetings will take place at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the Lawson Center.