RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 21) – The expression on Head Coach Tacara Moxey's face lit up Emery Gymnasium during her press conference Tuesday.
And with good reason.
Saint Augustine's University swept Johnson C. Smith to snap a 34-match losing volleyball streak spanning three seasons. This was the first win for the Lady Falcons since they defeated Lincoln (Pa.) in the CIAA Round-Up II on Sept. 22, 2018.
The victory also ended a six-match skid against the Golden Bulls and was the Lady Falcons' first triumph in a CIAA opener since 2012.
"My smile tells it all," Moxey said. "I am so elated."
A pair of freshmen sparked the Lady Falcons to a 25-18, 25-18, 25-15 win over the Golden Bulls. Maegan Williams (Durham, NC) tallied nine kills and Madison Jones (Durham, NC) added seven kills.
Another freshman, Zakiya Freeman (Riverdale, GA), dished out 12 assists and Sydney Moore (So./West Bloomfield, MI) had 9 assists. Janina Mayers (Sr./Christ Church, Barbados) totaled 11 digs and Tionna Graham (Jr./Portmore, Jamaica) finished with five kills and 9 digs.
Williams and Freeman combined for six of the Lady Falcons' 11 service aces.
Jada Berry led the Golden Bulls (0-5 overall, 0-1 CIAA, 0-1 Southern Division) with six kills, 17 assists and added five digs.
Williams and Jones knew little about the losing streak. They are more intent on helping the Lady Falcons start a new era of success.
"We [Williams and Jones] are really competitive and all the other girls are just as competitive, and we want it badly," Williams said.
Moxey joined the Lady Falcons coaching staff as an assistant coach in 2019 and was later elevated to interim head coach during the season. The Lady Falcons did not compete last year due to the CIAA opting out because of COVID-19.
This season, the Lady Falcons (1-5 overall, 1-0 CIAA, 1-0 Southern Division) played tough competition at their own SAU Quad Invitational and the WVSU Invitational entering the conference opener against Johnson C. Smith, their Southern Division foe.
Moxey said if the Lady Falcons played JCSU with the same intensity they displayed at the WVSU Invitational, then the CIAA opener would be a great match.
She was right.
The Lady Falcons took charge from the outset. They pulled away from JCSU in each set to gain the win.
"I wanted us to play teams that played a faster, more challenging game," Moxey said about the matches leading up to the CIAA opener. "The teams we played were champions or were picked to be champions. The experience of playing those teams prepared us. It gave us an advantage to face teams that play a totally different game than what we usually see in the CIAA."
The SAU Head Coach anticipates more success for the Lady Falcons this season.
"I just want to say thank you to everyone for just buying in and feeding off of each other's energy," Moxey said. "Most of all, I thank them for believing in themselves. We always tell them, 'Hey guys, you are a great group of girls, you are an awesome team, you are strong individuals. We can tell them that as much as we want, but they have to believe it.
"Today, they believed it and had a successful victory."
