DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Norfolk State made a late push, but Bethune-Cookman came away with a 3-0 conference win over the Spartan volleyball team on early Sunday afternoon at Moore Gym.
 
The Spartans rallied from down six late in the third before the Wildcats prevailed after a few extra serves, 26-24. B-CU was already up after taking the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-16.
 
Three players finished the day with five kills for the Spartans, who fell to 0-2 in the MEAC and 0-11 overall. Senior Bojana Bolozan, junior Julisa Carrizosa and sophomore Breona Young tied for the team lead in kills. Freshman Myleah Carter added 15 digs.
 
The Spartans nearly forced a fourth set in the match despite, falling behind early in the third. NSU was down 8-3 to start, but senior Halley McKnight had a service ace as they won four in a row. That got the Spartans to within one, and they were again within one at 13-12 after a kill from Carrizosa.
 
The Wildcats (4-9, 1-1 MEAC) won seven of the next nine for a 21-15 edge. The Spartans then got kills from three different players during a 9-3 run that tied the score at 24-all. The last two of those points came on Wildcat errors, but B-CU got a kill from Ryleigh Taylor followed by an NSU attack error to end the match.
 
Bailey Robinson led all players with 10 kills, while three of her B-CU teammates had at least 10 digs. Jordan Jefferson finished with 15 digs, while Taylor tallied 22 assists, six digs, five kills, five aces and three blocks.
 
The Spartans stayed close in the first set, leading by two early on. It was an 11-9 contest after a kill from Carrizosa before B-CU pulled even and then ahead. The Spartans called timeout down 21-16, although kills from Bolozan and Young did get them to within three at 22-19.
 
The Wildcats, however, went on to win by five. They were ahead 6-3 in the second, and then Taylor accounted for six of the team's points during a 7-0 run, five on aces and one on a kill. Bethune-Cookman was up 17-9 at that point and by as much as nine.
 
B-CU hit .109 for the afternoon and held the edge in blocks, 6-2.
 
NSU will still be on the road for its next two matches, at Maryland Eastern Shore and Delaware State next weekend.