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2004 Volleyball RecapIn August of 2004 the Lady Trojan Volleyball program began to build toward the CIAA Volleyball Championship and to establish that Virginia State University Volleyball is the real deal. On September 1, 2004, the Lady Trojans took their show on the road to Chowan College to face the Lady Braves. Virginia State University started their new season with a huge non-conference win 3-0 over the Lady Braves of Chowan College. Monique Mason started to make her case as one the CIAA top performers and one of the most consistent student-athletes to wear the orange & blue. Mason put VSU on her shoulders with 13 kills on 30 total attempts. Jeanene Lewis paced the Lady Trojans with 27 set assists, 3 service aces and 5 digs. Defensively, Andra Colbert and Myesha Ingram held off Chowan College with 27 combined digs and 2 blocks. Lydia Harsley started the new season with a strong outing versus the Lady Braves, contributing 7 kills, 12 set assists, 6 service aces, 13 digs and 2 blocks. The Lady Trojans seemed to be on their way. In match two, Virginia State University had to host their rival opponent, the Lady Panthers of Virginia Union University. Virginia Union University shocked the VSU 3-0 in an Eastern Division showdown. Andra Colbert and Crystal Hickman both had 4 kills each and a combined 8 digs. Only one VSU team member had a service ace, Jovanda Pettis. Jeanene Lewis who usually paces the Lady Trojans had only 3 set assists. On the defensive side of the net, the Lady Trojans had 25 total digs and 18 blocks that they didn’t take advantage of against a tough Virginia Union. Jeanene Lewis had 7 digs while Crystal Hickman and Myesha Ingram together totaled 12 digs. This was not a good showing; VSU had 23 errors and 8 service errors. Matches 3-6 would put the Lady Trojans on the road at Virginia Wesleyan Invitational. Match 3 was supposed to be the match that the Lady Trojans would get back on track after a bad performance. Marymount had a plan as well and that plan would be to give VSU another loss. Marymout defeated the Lady Trojans 3-0. Jeanene Lewis tried to help VSU bounce back with 31 set assists and 3 digs. Lydia Harsley continued her solid play by recording 8 kills on 11 total attempts, 2 service aces and 6 digs. Crystal Hickman and Jovanda Pettis combined for 13 kills on 21 total attempts, 2 service aces, 10 digs and 2 blocks. Although Hickman and Pettis played well with limited errors, the Lady Trojans couldn’t pass Marymount’s 9 service aces, 27 digs, 7 blocks and 38 kills. Monique Mason had a tough night with 4 kills on total attempts and only one block recorded. VSU wouldn’t rebound against Marymount. Match 4 was the match that the Lady Trojans would need to set the tone for the rest of the season. After losing two consecutive matches, the Lady Trojans got back on the horse to defeat Ferrum 3-2 in a long tough grind it out match. Monique Mason set her own tone to pace VSU, recording 11 kills and committing only 3 errors. Mason also served up 4 service aces and posted 8 blocks. Lydia Harsley’s offense was offensive, with 10 kills on 26 total attempts and one service ace. Andra Colbert, Jovanda Pettis and Crystal Hickman had 24 kills combined and 13 digs. As a team, VSU produced 13 blocks, 45 kills, 32 set assists and service aces. Jeanene Lewis kept the tempo of the match in the favor of the Lady Trojans with 32 set assists. VSU was back. After defeating Ferrum, the fatigue of being on the road for two days and two nights finally took its toll on the Lady Trojans as they dropped the next two matches, 3-1 to Messiah and 3-0 Virginia Wesleyan. Against Messiah the Lady Trojans received outstanding play from Monique Mason with 9 kills and 9 blocks Andra Colbert with 11 kills and 5 blocks. Jeanene Lewis played courageously with 24 set assists and 2 errors, but Messiah’s 40 kills and 12 service aces were too much. With Virginia Wesleyan next the Lady Trojans new that the gas tank was just about empty from two days of all day volleyball. Virginia Wesleyan defeated a tired and worn down VSU 3-0. Cyrstal Hickman was the Lady Trojans’ lone star, recording 8 kills on 11 total attempts, 5 digs, and only one error. For the game VSU had posted 28 kills, 8 errors, 13 set assists and 7 receiving errors. Virginia Wesleyan recorded 7 service aces, 19 set assists, 34 digs and 7 blocks. The Lady Trojans had back to back home matches against the University of D. C. and Shaw University, both teams had defeated the VSU last season. Coach Robinson and the Lady Trojans recorded two huge victories, 3-0 over UDC and 3-0 over Shaw University an Eastern Division foe. Andra Colbert had one of the best matches of the season against University of D. C., with 8 kills on 21 total attempts, 4 service aces, 3 digs and 1 block. Jeanene Lewis set the pace for VSU by setting up her teammates with 24 set assists. The Lady Firebirds played VSU tight in the last two games of the match, but Crystal Hickman’s 7 kills and Monique Mason’s 6 kills kept UDC from stealing a victory in Daniel Gymnasium. Defensively Myesha Ingram and Lydia Harsley controlled the defense for VSU with a combined effort of 20 digs. VSU posted 32 digs, 5 blocks and 13 service aces. After dismantling the Firebirds of the University of D. C., VSU played an unfavorable host to the Lady Bears of Shaw University. By shutting out Shaw University, the Lady Trojans had sent a message to the members of the CIAA, that VSU is on their way. Lydia Harsley jammed the Lady Bears with 10 kills on 14 total attempts, including 6 service aces and 4 digs. Andra Colbert was very accurate versus Shaw U. by spiking 9 kills on 12 total attempts and committing only 4 errors. Setter Jeanene Lewis played her role to perfection with 35 set assists, while Monique Mason and Crystal Hickman combined for 14 kills on 27 total attempts. The Lady Trojans’ 23 service aces forced Shaw University to commit 23 receiving errors and 30 attacking errors. VSU was clearly the better team against the Lady Bears. Next for the Lady Trojans, would be to travel to Fayetteville, NC to play in the CIAA Volleyball Roundup hosted by Fayetteville State University. VSU would have to play six matches in three days. At the roundup VSU would face N. C. Central University, Fayetteville State University, St. Augustine’s College, Winston-Salem State University, J. C. Smith University and Livingstone College. The Lady Trojans walked away from the 2004 CIAA Roundup 3-3, competing in six matches in three days which was a tall order for VSU. First up was N. C. Central University, the Lady Eagles out gunned VSU 3-0. The Lady Eagles were impressive with 52 kills on 126 total attempts in three games and 45 set assists. Virginia State recorded 36 kills on 113 total attempts, 37 digs and 6 blocks. Crystal Hickman tried to carry the torch for the Lady Trojans by contributing 9 kills, 2 service aces and 7 digs. Monique Mason struggled to put points on the board for VSU with 4 kills and 4 blocks. N. C. Central had too many weapons to throw over the net at VSU. The St. Augustine’s College Lady Falcons proved to be just as offensive as NCCU. The SAC Lady Falcons’ net a victory over VSU 3-0. On the road and struggling to make positive things happen was a tough task for the Lady Trojans, with 22 kills and 2 service aces in three games. Monique Mason and Crystal Hickman tried to rally VSU with solid efforts. Mason recorded 6 kills and 3 blocks, while Hickman posted 4 kills, 1 service ace and 7 digs. The Lady Falcons 46 kills, 56 digs, 10 blocks and 8 service aces was too much to overcome. Against the Lady Blue Bears of Livingstone College, Virginia State had a little bop in their hop and a lot more pep in their step as they handed Livingstone College a 2-1 set back. Coach Robinson had two players in double figures in kills, Jovanda Pettis with 12 kills and Monique Mason with 10. Mason also smashed 5 service aces and had 3 blocks. VSU’s 53 kills and 19 service aces was just too much for Livingstone College to handle. Jeanene Lewis kept the ball in play with 31 set assists, 3 kills and no errors; near perfect game for a setter. Lydia Harsley, Andra Colbert, and Crystal Hickman together totaled 25 kills on 41 total attempts. In the 12th match of the season, the Lady Trojans went up against the Lady Broncos of Fayetteville State University, the Lady Trojans battled through four games of a best of five game-match but fell short of victory as FSU defeat VSU 3-1. Monique Mason played well for Coach Robinson and the Lady Trojans by compiling 9 total kills on 23 total attempts with only 4 errors. Mason alson had a match high of 11 total blocks. The Trojans had a total 37 blocks versus the Lady Broncos. Jeneane Lewis, Andra Colbert, Lydia Harsley, Jovanda Pettis and Crystal Hickman all had 8 kills each which gave the Lady Trojans a total of 49 kills on a 134 total attempts. Lewis performed like the pace- setter she is with 28 set assists, 3 service aces, 3 digs and 1 block. The Lady Trojans strong effort just wasn’t enough to overcome the Lady Broncos. The next five matches for Virginia State University were J. C. Smith University, Winston-Salem, Elizabeth City State, Virginia Wesleyan and the University of D. C. Virginia State defeated them all starting with dismissing J. C. Smith 3-1, Winston-Salem 3-0, Elizabeth City State 3-1, Virginia Wesleyan 3-2 and the University of D. C. 3-0. They had posted their longest winning streak of the season with five straight impressive victories. During the run, the Lady Trojans’ averaged 45.8 kills on 113.6 total attempts. Jeneane Lewis, the Lady Trojans setter extraordinaire, averaged 20.2 sets including a career high 47 set assists against J. C. Smith. The Lady Trojans other totals were 36.4 digs per match, 11.2 blocks per match, and 15 service aces per match. After five solid matches, the Lady Trojans hit the wall against the Lady Panthers of Virginia Union University. The Lady Panthers handed VSU their 8th loss of the season, 3-1. Virginia State struggled against the Lady Panthers 3 of 4 games on VUU’s home court, Barco-Stevens Gymnasium. Monique Mason was the brightest of stars for VSU with 7 kills on 25 total attempts and 8 blocks. Just behind Mason was Crystal Hickman who smashed 6 kills on 25 total attempts, 11 digs, 1 service ace and 2 blocks. Jeneane Lewis tried to with all she had to pace the Lady Trojans with 19 set assists, 5 kills on 17 total attempts, 1 service ace and no errors. Despite VSU’s efforts, the Lady Panthers 62 kills on 156 total attempts, 18 service aces, 6 digs, 55 set assists and only 4 receiving errors were tough match. With the wall behind them, the Lady Trojans went on a 10 match winning streak that included two matches in the CIAA Volleyball Championship. That 10-match run was the longest winning streak in recent years for the Lady Trojans. During the 10-match run the Lady Trojans defeated Elizabeth City 3-1, Bowie State 3-0, St. Augustine’s 3-2, St. Paul’s 3-0, St. Paul’s 3-0, Shaw 3-2, Bowie State 3-0, Chowan College 3-0, Bowie State 3-0 and Winston-Salem 3-0. Virginia State averaged 37.3 kills on 115.4 total attempts per game, 28.5 set assists per game, 13.6 service aces per game, 38.6 digs per game and 11.6 blocks per game. Overall the Virginia State University Lady Trojans had an outstanding 2004 Volleyball Team season under new head coach Keyonna Robinson. The 2005 season looks very promising for the Lady Trojans with Crystal Hickman, Jeneane Lewis, Lydia Harsley and Monique Mason returning to anchor the program.
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