COLUMBIA, S.C. – After a three-week break from playing at home, the Benedict College Lady Tigers volleyball team gave the home crowd a Halloween treat with a 3-0 victory over Fort Valley State Monday night in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC arena.
Benedict, playing the Lady Wildcats for the second time in four days, defeated Fort Valley State 25-14, 25-21, 25-16. Benedict improves to 13-5 overall and 12-3 in the SIAC. Fort Valley drops to 7-23 overall and 2-12 in the SIAC.
LaTayvia Mack led Benedict with 12 kills, while freshman
Terae Sweeting had nine kills. Sweeting was instrumental in the second game, after Fort Valley had cut the lead to 21-20, scoring three kills, including the final two to clinch the close game.
“We changed our offense, and I told Terae she has to step it up,” said Benedict coach
Gwendolyn Rouse. “When we put her next to LaTayvia and Lorena (Leao), it really opens up our offense more.”
The Lady Tigers opened the match with a 9-1 lead in the first game and increased the lead to 15-5 on a kill by
Lorena Leao. Fort Valley State got as close as 21-13 before Leao recorded a pair of kills and a block with Courtney Bobo-McKenzie, who got a kill for the final point
Benedict led the entire way in the second game, but Fort Valley State hung close and put a scare into the match. The Lady Tigers never led by more than four points, and the Lady Wildcats cut the lead to one point on a couple of occasions, the final time at 21-20. Sweeting came back with a kill to make it 22-20. With the score 23-21, Sweeting closed out the game with back-to-back kills.
Benedict came out stronger in the third game, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and building the lead to 17-7. Kills by Mack and Leao and a block by Sweeting gave Benedict its biggest lead at 23-12. Benedict had three chances at match point before Sweeting closed out the match with a kill.
Asia Bailey had six blocks for Benedict, while
Ashley Jackson recorded 30 assists and four aces.
“We haven't played home in a while, and sometimes it is hard to get back into the momentum,” Rouse said. “The first and third game we were fine, but the second game we were very sluggish. I sure hope we come ready to play Thursday.”
Benedict wraps up the season on Thursday at home against Clark Atlanta, a team that beat Benedict 3-0 on October 17.
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