COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College women's volleyball team suffered their first loss of the season, as Savannah State rallied from an 0-2 deficit to take a 3-2 victory on Monday night in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.
Savannah State claimed an 11-25, 23-25, 25-16, 27-25, 15-9 victory to improve to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the SIAC. Benedict falls to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the SIAC.
Desire' Young led the Lady Tigers with 15 kills and hit .345.
Cana Smith added 13 kills and
Krislenn Lucas had 11 kills.
Jadyn Murry and
Willow Alls had 23 assists each, and
Jordan Williams recorded 30 digs.
Kaiah Green had three solo blocks.
After cruising to a convincing win in the first set, the Lady Tigers and Savannah State battled in a close second set. Benedict had a 21-15 lead before Savannah State rallied with seven straight points to take a 22-21 lead. The Lady Tigers retook the lead with three straight points on a kill by Lucas and two Savannah State errors. A kill by Savannah State made it 24-23, but Benedict closed out the set on another kill by Lucas.
In the third set, Savannah State pulled away with five straight points to build a 20-11 lead and held on for the 25-16 victory.
The fourth set was a historic battle, with neither team leading by more than two points the entire way. Benedict had an 8-6 lead before Savannah State scored the next four points for a 10-8 lead. Benedict tied the score at 10-10 and the lead went back and forth the rest of the way. Savannah State scored three straight points to take a 19-17 lead, and later had a 24-22 lead. The Lady Tigers rallied for the next two points to tie the match at 24. The score was tied again at 25 before Savannah State got a point on a Benedict error, then closed out the set with a kill.
Savannah State kept the momentum in the deciding fifth set, jumping out to an early 8-1 lead. Benedict was able to cut the lead to 9-5, but Savannah State scored the next three points for a 12-5 lead and went on to take the 15-9 win.
Benedict is back in action on Tuesday at home with a non-conference match against Johnson C. Smith at 6 p.m.
