COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College men's volleyball team put on a dominating performance to beat Warren Wilson College 3-0 in a non-conference match on Thursday in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.
The Tigers hit a season-high .376, while their 46 kills were a season-high for a three-set match, winning the match by scores of 25-22, 25-8, 25-15. Benedict improves to 6-6 overall, while Warren Wilson falls to 2-12.
The first set was close, with Warren Wilson using a 4-0 run to take a 13-11 lead midway through the set. Benedict recorded a pair of kills to tie the score, and later scored three points in a row to retake the lead for good, 18-16. Warren Wilson cut the lead to 20-19, but then Benedict recorded three straight kills, with a pair from
Denzel Pepper. Benedict closed out the set on an attack error by the Owls.
The Tigers dominated the second set, scoring seven points in a row for a 7-1 early lead. The Tigers later scored eight points in a row behind the strong serving of
Jared Brown for a 19-4 lead. Brown served a pair of aces during that run. Benedict increased the lead to 22-5 before the teams traded points to close out the set, with the Tigers clinching with a kill from
Roy Berry. Benedict hit .542 in the second set, registering 15 kills on 24 attempts and committing just two attack errors.
Benedict used an early 5-1 run to take a 7-4 lead in the third set. The Tigers increased the lead to 14-7 after kills from Pepper and Berry. Three more points in a row gave Benedict a 19-9 lead. The Owls cut the lead to 23-15, but kills by
William Currence Jr. and Pepper finished off the match.
Pepper recorded a season-high 11 kills for the Tigers, while
Mallik Foreman had eight kills.
Matthew Dimapan had a season-high 31 assists.
Cameron Long registered a team-high eight digs.
Benedict returns to action with a road trip to Frankfort, Ky., to take on Kentucky State in a pair of SIAC matches on March 27 and 28. They return home to wrap up the season with a pair of home matches against Central State on April 1 and 2.
