COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Lady Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Albany State rallied to win the next three sets to take a 3-2 SIAC victory on Tuesday night in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.
Albany State won the match 21-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-13.
Benedict falls to 11-8 overall and 7-6 in the SIAC, while Albany State improves to 19-8 overall and 13-1 in the SIAC.
Mia Burgess led the Lady Tigers with 18 kills, while
Desire' Young had 14 kills and four blocks.
DeMyah Jackson added 13 kills and 10 digs.
Willow Alls had a season-high 31 assists to go along with 13 digs.
Jayden Johnson added 21 assists and had a team-best 16 digs.
In the first set, the Lady Tigers had a 16-15 lead before scoring the next three points to push the lead to 19-15. The two teams traded points with Albany State cutting the lead to 22-19. Benedict scored the next two points on kills by Young and Burgess. After the Golden Rams scored the next two points, a kill by Burgess wrapped up the set.
The Lady Tigers jumped out to a big lead in the second set, using a 4-0 spurt to take a 12-5 lead. After Albany State cut the lead to 20-15 later in the set, the Lady Tigers scored the next four points on a kill by Jackson and two kills by Young. After a kill by the Golden Rams, Young sealed the second set with a kill.
Albany State jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the third set, but Benedict rallied to cut the lead to 16-14. Benedict was able to get within 22-20 late in the set on a kill by Burgess, but Albany State scored three of the final four points to take the set.
The Golden Rams used a 6-0 run midway through the fourth set to pull away from a 14-14 tie. Benedict answered with a late 6-0 run to tie the score at 22. A kill by Young tied the score again at 23, but Albany State got the final two points on a Benedict error and kill to tie the match at two sets each and forced a deciding fifth set.
Benedict jumped out to an early 7-3 lead, but Albany State rallied to tie the score at 8-8. The match stayed close, with a kill by Burgess and an ASU error tied the score at 13. Albany State scored a kill and then won the match after a Benedict error.
The Lady Tigers play at Fort Valley State on Friday.
