COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Lady Tigers defeated rival Allen University 3-2 in a hotly contested women's volleyball match on Thursday night in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.
 
Benedict won the match 25-20, 21-25, 25-22, 9-25, 15-11 to improve to 11-3 overall and 8-3 in the SIAC. Allen falls to 8-7 overall and 3-7 in the SIAC.
 
Cana Smith had 11 kills for the Lady Tigers, while Jordan Gilbert had a season-high eight kills, including the final kill of the fifth set to secure the match. Jordan Williams led the defense with 20 digs, while Jadyn Murry had a double-double with 16 assists and 17 digs. Willow Alls had 17 assists.
 
Gilbert scored the final two kills of the first set to give Benedict a 1-0 lead. Allen jumped out to an early 8-2 lead in the second set and held on for a 25-21 win to tie the match. The Lady Tigers trailed 16-10 in the third set, but rallied with five straight points to take a 23-21 lead. Allen scored the next point, but then Benedict closed out the set with a point from an Allen service error, then T'yannah Lake scored a kill for the final point to give Benedict a 2-1 lead.
 
Allen scored the first seven points of the fourth set and cruised to the 25-9 win in the fourth set to tie the match and force a deciding fifth set. In the fifth set, Allen scored the first three points before Benedict rallied to take a 6-4 lead. Benedict scored four straight points for an 11-6 lead. Allen cut the lead to 13-10. The two teams traded points before Gilbert sealed the match with a kill.
 
Benedict is back in action on Monday, hosting Edward Waters University at 5 p.m.