BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Benedict College volleyball advanced to the semifinals of the 2016 SIAC Volleyball Championship with a pair of five-set wins on Thursday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

Benedict defeated Albany State 3-2 in their first match of the day, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to knock out the Lady Golden Rams, 25-16, 12-25, 12-25, 25-21, 15-9. In their second match of the day, the Lady Tigers beat Tuskegee for the second time in the tournament, eliminating the Lady Golden Tigers by rallying from a 2-1 deficit again. Benedict won 25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-10.

Benedict advances to the semifinal match against Claflin at 8 p.m. Thursday. The winner will play Kentucky State in the championship game on Friday at 2 p.m.

Against Albany State, Aaliyah Lawson had 18 kills, while V'Aira Harris had a double-double with 14 kills and 14 digs. Brianne McMillian had 36 assists.

In the fifth set, Benedict pulled away from a 6-6 tie with three straight points. After an Albany State point, the Lady Tigers got a pair of kills from Harris for an 11-7 lead. Benedict closed out the match with three straight points, getting kills from Lawson, Torcealon Kelley and Taylor Stephens for the win.

Against Tuskegee, Harris led the way with 17 kills and 20 digs. Lawson also had a double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs. Stephens had a season-high 15 kills, McMillian had a season-high 48 assists and Majda Cisic had a season-high 26 digs.

With the match tied at two sets each, Benedict scored the first six points of the fifth set, getting one kill from Lawson and one from Stephens, while getting the other four points on Tuskegee attack errors. Stephens recorded the final point with a kill.