TOUGALOO, Miss. – Mississippi Valley State's volleyball team snapped its losing streak in the nightcap of a doubleheader Tuesday (Sept. 10). The Devilettes dropped the first match to Lyon 3-2 (28-26, 18-25, 26-24, 16-25, 13-15), but then defeated Tougaloo (25-21, 25-23, 25-12). 

In the first match, Tylia Dixon (Chino, Calif.) and Zion Hardy (Winterville, N.C.) recorded double-doubles. Dixon finished with 12 kills and 11 digs, while Hardy added a career high 25 assists along with 10 digs. Jessica Bell (Cedar Hill, Tex.) tallied a season-high 21 digs. 

Jaziah Anderson (Wiregrass Ranch, Fla.) led the team with nine kills in the nightcap, and Tyler Caliste (New Orleans, La.) supplied 22 assists. 

Valley grinded out set wins in extra time against Lyon, with Destini Banks (Crowley, Tex.) finishing off the first set with a kill and Kiya Garza (Cedar Hill, Tex.) ending set three with an ace. But the Scots won sets two and four by decided margins to force a winner-take-all. In the fifth set, Anderson attempted to rally the troops with four kills, but it was an attack error she made at the end that sealed the Devilettes' fate. 

Determined to leave Tougaloo with a victory, Valley came from behind to tie the first set at the midway point. Anderson helped the Devilettes pull away with a pair of kills in the 25-21 win. The second set was even closer. After Bell aced the Bulldogs to force set two, Tougaloo rallied to pull within one point of extra play. It was a block by Hardy and Chardea Berthelot (Laplace, La.) that silenced the rally and gave the Devilettes a 2-0 advantage.

A sprinting start of 7-4 in favor of Valley helped finish the match. An 11-2 run later in set three further helped the Devilettes get in a prime position to win, as Mississippi Valley rolled 25-12. 

Next up for Valley is a doubleheader with Nicholls and Louisiana Monroe in Ruston, La. on Friday (Sept. 13).