Fayetteville, N.C. – Virginia Union University's volleyball team showed grit and growth during a challenging CIAA weekend at Felton J. Capel Arena, splitting a pair of matches against Livingstone and Shaw before falling to host Fayetteville State.

On Friday morning, the Lady Panthers opened strong with a 3-1 victory over Livingstone (25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21). Virginia Union's balanced attack was led by Aireanna Johnson's 14 kills and Alana Simmons' 14 kills and 14 digs, while setter Ashlee Franklin dished out 41 assists. Junior Madison Hill added 11 kills and two blocks as VUU secured its second CIAA win of the season.

On Saturday, Shaw University defeated the Lady Panthers 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-22). Alana Simmons paced the Panthers with 11 kills and five service aces, while Ashlee Franklin collected 24 assists and nine digs.

Later on, Saturday, the Panthers closed the weekend against defending CIAA champion Fayetteville State, falling 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-13). Johnson tallied a team-high seven kills, and Hill added six with a .545 hitting percentage

Head Coach Anetra Sims praised her team's resilience, saying:

"I'm proud of our girls for battling hard this weekend! We faced some tough moments, especially with closing out a few matches, but we're growing every day—mentally and physically—as a team. With a few weeks left in the season, we're digging deep, pushing through, and staying focused on getting better. Let's finish strong!"

Virginia Union (6-8 overall, 2-3 CIAA) will return to action against Randolph College at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 7, at Barco-Stevens Hall in Richmond, Va.