COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College women's volleyball team opened the 2025 season in impressive fashion with a dominating 3-0 victory over Paine College on Thursday night in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.
 
Benedict won the match 25-7, 25-16, 25-5, as they had an impressive .455 hitting percentage as a team, committing just eight attack errors in the match.
 
Freshman Mia Burgess had a team-high nine kills in her collegiate debut, while Desire' Young added seven kills while hitting a blistering .875 - seven kills on eight attacks and no errors. Willow Alls had 17 assists, while Jadyn Murry added 10 assists. Alls also led the team with eight digs. Kylie Jackson served up five aces.
 
The Lady Tigers jumped out to an early 7-1 lead in the first set and increased the lead to 15-6. Benedict then had a five-point run before Paine scored on a Benedict error. The Lady Tigers then closed out the set with five more consecutive points, including a pair of kills by Burgess.
 
In the second set, Benedict again had a big lead, using an 8-0 run to build a 13-5 lead. Benedict had set point at 24-11, but Paine held off and scored the next five points before the Lady Tigers closed out the set with a kill by Krislenn Lucas.
 
Benedict used a 12-0 run early in the third set to take a 14-1 lead and cruised through the final set. Young scored the match point on a kill.
 
Paine falls to 0-2 on the season. Benedict, now 1-0 on the season, is back in action on Friday with a road trip to Clinton College in Rock Hill, S.C.