COLUMBIA, S.C. – Torcealon Kelley and Adrionna Washington had career-high kills to help lead Benedict to a 3-2 victory over rival Claflin in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena on Friday night.

Benedict used a five-point run late in the fourth set to take a 21-17 lead and then held off a furious Claflin rally to win the fourth set 27-25 to tie the set at two sets each and force the match into a deciding fifth set. In the fifth set, Benedict rallied from a 8-5 deficit with five straight points to take the lead, then closed out the match with a kill by Washington.

All of the sets were close, with Benedict winning the match 23-25, 25-20, 20-25, 27-25, 15-13. The Lady Tigers improve to 6-7 overall and 5-6 in the SIAC. Claflin falls to 3-9 overall and 3-5 in the SIAC. Claflin had won seven straight matches over the Lady Tigers, with the last Benedict win coming nearly three years ago on October 7, 2014.

Kelley, a senior, finished with a career-high 21 kills, while Washington, a sophomore, finished with a career-high 22 kills. She recorded six kills in the deciding fifth set, including the match winner. Kiarra Pettway added a season-high 13 kills.

Brianne McMillian had a career-high 56 assists, while added 17 digs. Majda Cisic led the team with 19 digs.

Jordan Wallace led Claflin with 16 kills.

After dropping the first set, Benedict had a 20-15 lead in the second set before the Panthers rallied with four straight points. Claflin cut the lead to 21-20 after a kill by Jamie Dobson. Benedict closed out the set with a kill by Kelley and Washington and a pair of Claflin attack errors to tie the match at one set apiece.

Claflin scored four points in a row to break away from a tight contest late in the third set to take a 25-20 win. The Lady Tigers had a 21-17 lead in the fourth set, only to see the Panthers come back and tie the set at 24-24 on an attack error by Benedict. Another Benedict attack error tied the match at 25, but Benedict closed out the set with a Claflin error and a service ace by Arneshia Parrish.

Benedict is back in action on Saturday, taking a short trip across the street to Allen University to play Allen and Morris in a tri-match. Benedict doesn't return home until October 18 for a non-conference match against Johnson C. Smith.