SALISBURY, N.C. – The Benedict College women's volleyball team lost their first match of the season, dropping a hard-fought contest to Livingstone 3-1 on Wednesday night.
 
Livingstone won the match 19-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-23 and improves to 5-2 on the season. Benedict falls to 3-1.
 
After taking the first set, the Lady Tigers had a 23-21 lead in the second set before Livingstone scored the final four points, with two of those coming from Benedict errors, to claim the set.
 
The Lady Tigers had a 23-20 lead in the third set, but saw the Blue Bears stage another late rally. A kill by Nyla Troncoso gave Benedict set point at 24-22. Three straight Benedict errors gave Livingstone the lead, then the Blue Bears closed out the set with a kill.
 
Livingstone had a 15-10 lead in the fourth set before Benedict rallied and tied the score at 17-17. The match remained close  with Benedict taking a 22-21 lead. The Blue Bears scored the next thee points for a 24-22 lead. After a Livingstone service error, the Blue Bears won the match on the next point with a kill.
 
Mia Burgess recorded a team-high 12 kills and 15 digs to lead the Lady Tigers. Willow Alls had 20 assists, while Jadyn Murry added 16 assists.
 
The two teams will meet for a rematch on Friday night at 7 p.m. in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.