COLUMBIA, S.C. – Edward Waters University took a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Benedict in a women's volleyball match on Thursday in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.

Edward Waters took the match 25-18, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19 to improve to 12-6 overall with their fifth straight win. Benedict falls to 8-5 overall.

Edward Waters had an 18-17 lead in the first set before closing out the set with a 7-1 run. The Lady Tigers used a late 6-0 run in the second set to take a 20-15 lead. Edward Waters cut the lead to 21-19, but the Lady Tigers scored four of the final six points, including an ace by Jordan Williams to clinch the set.

The third set was close as well. Benedict had a 19-18 lead after an ace by June Hollins. Edward Waters scored five of the next six points for a 23-20 lead. After a Benedict point on an EWU error, Edward Waters closed out the set with the final two points.

In the fourth set, Edward Waters used an early 6-0 run to take a 9-6 lead. Benedict rallied to take an 11-10 lead on a kill by Kennede Thomas. After falling behind 17-13, the Lady Tigers stormed back to tie the score at 17. Edward Waters took control late, scoring eight of the final 10 points to seal the match.

Daija Walton led the Lady Tigers with 13 kills, while Cana Smith added 10 kills. Ashleigh Reeves had 34 assists and 10 digs for a double-double.

The Lady Tigers are back in action on Friday with a home match against Clark Atlanta University starting at  6 p.m.