Courtesy of FAMU Athletics
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | The Florida A&M volleyball team will head east for its next tournament – a two-day appearance at the Jacksonville Invitational (Sept. 1-2) at Jacksonville University. The team is set to take on The Citadel and Northern Arizona on Friday before wrapping action with the host on Saturday.
Streaming will not be available; however, all three matches will have live stats.
Jacksonville Invitational | Jacksonville, Fla.
Friday, Sept. 1
The Citadel | 12 p.m.
Northern Arizona | 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 2
Jacksonville | 1 p.m.
The Last Outing
The Rattlers (0-3) opened the 2023 season in the UAB Invitational (Aug. 25-27), dropping matches to Austin Peay, Buffalo, and UAB. The former resulted in 3-1 setbacks, while the finale captured a thrilling 3-2 heartbreaker.
Highlights
- Brooke Lynn Watts led the offense in all three matches; the junior outside hitter recorded 10-plus kills in each outing, including a game-high, season-high 18 versus Austin Peay. She also recorded double-doubles in back-to-back matches – 14 kills and 14 digs versus Buffalo and 17 kills and 15 digs against UAB.
- Emerald Jacobs finished with 10+ digs in two of the Rattlers’ three matches. She recorded 10 digs, seven kills, and two total blocks against Buffalo while notching a double-double (13 kills, 19 digs) against UAB.
- Freshman Iyonnie Sanford started all three matches in FAMU’s season-opening weekend. The outside hitter is currently third on the team with 24 kills and second in blocks (10). She recorded season-highs in three categories versus UAB: kills (10), digs (7), total blocks (8)
- Brooke Hudson contributed at least 10 digs in all three matches, including a season-high 25 against UAB
Conference Rankings
FAMU currently leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference in the following categories:
Assists Per Set | 11.46
Digs Per Set | 14.31
Hitting Percentage | .219
Kills Per Set | 11.85
Team Assists | 149
Team Digs | 186
Team Kills | 154
Team Total Attacks | 443
Individually, Brooke Hudson guides the SWAC and sits 59th in the nation in digs per set (4.77). The Preseason Libero of the Year also ranks 22nd in the NCAA in total digs (62). Brooke Lynn Watts, the Preseason Player of the Year, paces the conference in five categories: kills per set (3.77), total kills (49 / 26th in NCAA), points (52 / 54th in NCAA), attacks per set (9.69), and total attacks (126 / 41st in NCAA).
Recapping Another Historic Season
- Florida A&M claimed its second Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament title in a 3-0 victory over the top-seed, Alabama State – the two were crowned co-regular season champions with mirror 15-1 conference records
- The team finished the 2022 season 21-13 overall, further highlighted by a 12-match winning spell and 15 straight-set victories
- Head coach Gokhan Yilmaz compiled 17 victories at Charlotte (2014-15) and currently manages 67 at the helm of FAMU; Yilmaz enters his sixth season having coached Florida A&M to back-to-back 20 win seasons with a pair of SWAC titles
- FAMU swept conference accolades with the Player of the Year (Dominique Washington), Setter of the Year (Irem Ucar), Libero of the Year (Brooke Hudson), and Newcomer of the Year (Brooke Lynn Watts); Hudson and Watts are set to return this upcoming season
