COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College volleyball team jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but then had to hold off a furious rally by Clark Atlanta to take a 3-2 victory in an SIAC volleyball match on Monday.

The Lady Tigers won 25-19, 25-15, 22-25, 22-25, 15-13 to improve to 9-6 overall and 6-3 in the SIAC. Clark Atlanta fell to 4-13 overall and 3-5 in the SIAC.
Aaliyah Lawson had 11 kills to lead Benedict, while Lorena Leao had a double-double with 10 kills and 21 digs. LaPromise Boone also had a double-double with 45 assists and 12 digs.

In the first game, Benedict pulled away from a 17-17 tie by scoring five straight points. Lawson had a kill and Leao had a service ace during that run.

In the second game, Benedict went on an 8-1 run to take an 11-6 lead. They built the lead to 19-9 on back-to-back attack errors by the Lady Panthers. Lawson recorded a kill for the game-winning point.

Benedict rallied from a 19-15 deficit in the third game to tie the game at 19. Clark Atlanta regained the lead at 21-20, but a kill by Arneshia Parrish tied the game at 21. After a Clark Atlanta point, Jocolby Brown tied the game at 22 with a kill. But Clark Atlanta then scored the final three points of the game, including an ace for the game-winning point.

Benedict had a 21-17 lead in the fourth game, only to see Clark Atlanta rally and outscore the Lady Tigers 8-1 down the stretch to win the game and force a deciding fifth game.

In the fifth game, Benedict had a 9-7 lead, but Clark Atlanta scored five straight points to take a 12-9 lead. Benedict came back and scored the next five points, getting a pair of kills from Terae Sweeting, for a 14-12 lead. Clark Atlanta scored the next point, but Lawson scored a kill for the match winner.

The Lady Tigers are back in action on Wednesday, hosting Albany State. Game time is 6 p.m., and will be streamed on Stretch Internet.