Albany, GA— The second day of the 25th Annual SIAC Volleyball Championship was the start of the elimination round. Held in the Albany State University Health and Physical Education & Recreation (HPER) Gymnasium, the following are recaps from day two of tournament action:
#5E Paine College defeats #5W Miles College (25-14, 25-16, 25-14)
In the first match of the day, Paine College defeated Miles College in three games to advance in the elimination round of the 2011 SIAC Volleyball Tournament. With the loss Miles was eliminated from further action in the tournament.
Miles College was led by Jessica Franklin with seven kills and Nicole Toombs with 12 assists. Defensively Jessica Likely was credited with 10 digs.
Victoria Claytor led Paine College with 12 kills, and eight digs; followed by Janae’ Kearse with eight kills and Fernisha McMillan with two service aces and seven digs. Camachio Harris recorded 26 assists.
#2W Stillman College defeats #3W LeMoyne-Owen College (25-14, 25-16, 21-25, 25-14)
The second match of the elimination round featured the Lady Tigers of Stillman College and the Lady Magicians of LeMoyne-Owen College. The four game win by Stillman College was highlighted by the play of Jamila McKinnis who finished with a game-high 17 kills. She also registered 14 service aces; five digs, and two blocking assists. Januar Page contributed a game-high 25 assists and three digs to the win. The Lady Tigers continue tournament play and are now 19-15 overall.
While the loss by the Lady Magicians eliminates them from the tournament, Rachel Walton provided the spark for LeMoyne-Owen during the match with five kills, five service aces, and three digs. Sharita Jones also tallied five kills. The Lady Magicians finish the 2011 season with a 10-18 record.
#4E Clark Atlanta University defeats #4W Tuskegee University (25-15, 25-14, 25-18)
In the third game of the day Clark Atlanta University (13-17) defeated Tuskegee University (6-18) in three games of the 2011 SIAC Volleyball tournament.
Tuskegee was led by Christen Blackledge with six kills and Denavia Harrison 5 kills. Christian Pleasant tallied 12 assists. Tanesha Foster led the defense with 12 digs.
Chanel Trice led Clark Atlanta University with nine kills, while Danika Lawrence and Ashely Brooks added eight kills each. Kailyn Blackmon came away with 21 assists. Tyneshia Spears led the defense with 10 digs.
#6E Fort Valley State University defeats #6W Lane College (25-18, 25-19, 25-16)
The fourth match of the elimination round paired the Lady Wildcats of Fort Valley State University against the Lady Dragons of Lane College. The straight set win for the Lady Wildcats propelled them forward in the elimination round and loss by Lane concluded their season.
The Lady Wildcats were spurred to victory by Briana Shepherd who recorded 12 kills, five digs, two solo blocks, and one block assist. Zakkiya Vincent logged six kills and two digs in the win. The Lady Wildcats continue tournament play and are now 8-27 for the season.
Tamvernisha Huery led the Lady Dragons in the elimination match. She totaled five kills, two service aces, and three solo blocks. Erica Oliver added four kills and two service aces.
#4E Clark Atlanta University defeats #6E Fort Valley State University (25-14, 25-13, 25-23)
The tournament came to an end for the Lady Wildcats when they met the Lady Panthers of Clark Atlanta University at 2 p.m. In spite of the collective effort of Briana Shepherd, Stephanie Brownlee, and Andrea Stephenson, FVSU was unable stave off the defeat. Shepherd finished six kills and two solo blocks; Brownlee added 4 kills and three assists; and Stephenson had nine assists and eight digs.
In the end, however, the Lady Panthers proved simply too much. Alexandria Mattox had 10 kills, one service ace, and eight digs to empower the Lady Panthers. Ashley Brooks added eight kills and two block assists. As the Lady Panthers advance, the season for the Lady Wildcats comes to close with a record of 8-28.
#1W Kentucky State University defeats #2E Benedict College (25-16, 22-25, 25-20, 25-15)
The sixth match of day, two of the upper seeds met, as Kentucky State wins over Benedict in a four set match.
Benedict was led by Terae Sweeting with 11 kills, two service aces and four digs; Latayvia Mack with 10 kills and five digs; and Ashley Jackson tallying 26 assists. Defensively, Lorena Leao totaled six digs.
Emily Grieshaber led Kentucky State with a game-high 17 kills. Ayanna Parker contributed 14 kills, two service aces, and four digs. Brittany Stewart logged a game-high 50 assists and six digs. Markeshia Williams ended the match with a game-high 19 digs.
#3E Albany State University defeats #1E Claflin University (19-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-17)
In what is one of the biggest upsets in the tournament so far, the Lady Rams of Albany State University delivered a stunning blow to the number one seed Lady Panthers. After dropping the first game, the Lady Rams reeled off back-to-back-to-back game wins to advance in play and remain undefeated. The loss was the first of tournament for the Lady Panthers.
Sabrina Garcia and Sharme Ridley led the Lady Rams offensive attack with 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Jillian Anderson and Amber Gatlin contributed 10 and eight kills each. The Lady Ram defense was anchored by Adrienne Morris who finished with 19 digs; followed by Ridley with 14 and Jennifer Johnson with 9.
While the loss dropped the Lady Panthers to the loser’s bracket, Claflin, by no means, played like losers. Offensively, they were led by Chelcey Foster and Lauren Calvin who logged 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Katherin Fischer finished with a total of 42 assists.
The Claflin defense rallied around the 19 digs provided by Courtney Pearson and 12 by Caitlyn Marsh.
#2E Benedict College defeats #2W Stillman College (25-23, 13-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-10)
In the eighth match of the day, Benedict College eliminated Stillman College from the tournament with a five set victory. Jamila McKinnis recorded a triple-double with 30 kills, 22 assists, and 18 digs for Stillman. Cynteria Jones added 12 kills, as Januar Page tallied 28 assists. Christine Mallory collected 15 digs to lead Stillman defensively. The Lady Tigers of Stillman College finished the season with a 20-16 record.
Benedict was led by Latayvia Mack, with 27 kills, two service aces and eight digs. Lorena Leao contributed 14 kills, 2 service aces, and 15 digs. Terae Sweeting added 13 kills. Defensively, Ashley Jackson recorded a match-high 48 assists. Ruth Ann Simms ended the evening with 26 digs.
Benedict, now 16-6, advances with the win and will face Claflin University tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.
#1E Claflin University defeats #4E Clark Atlanta Univ. (20-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-15, 15-13)
The most grueling match of the tournament featured the two sets of Panthers. The Lady Panthers of Claflin University and the Lady Panthers of Clark Atlanta University tangled for five games to determine which set of Panthers would advance. When the dust finally settled, it was the Panthers of Claflin University who earned the right to continue tournament play.
Claflin’s offense was ignited by the 22 kills delivered by Lauren Calvin and the 19 by Chelcey Foster. Katherin Fischer distributed 51 assists in the five-game match.
Fischer also aided the Claflin defense with 15 digs. The Lady Panther defense was further assisted by Courtney Person’s 13 digs and the two solo blocks by Foster.
Clark Atlanta University was led offensively by Ashley Brooks and Alexandria Mattox who finished with 10 kills each. Kaitlyn Blackmon had 39 assists in the match.
Defensively, Tyneisha Spears recorded 19 digs for Clark Atlanta and Danica Lawrence had two solo blocks. The Lady Panthers of Clark Atlanta University finish their season with a 14-18 overall record.
#1W Kentucky State defeats #3E Albany State (25-19, 27-29, 25-19, 21-25, 17-15)
Kentucky State University (KSU) (22-17) stayed undefeated in the SIAC volleyball tournament with a five game win over Albany State University (ASU) (20-15). ASU moves into the losers’ bracket with the loss.
KSU was led by Emily Grieshaber and Ayanna Parker with 16 kills each. Audrey Sherles had 11 kills, and Ashley Jones finished with 10 kills. Brittany Stewart tallied 53 assists. Markeshia Williams led the defense with 15 digs, as Jordan Foyer added 12 digs, and Stewart with 10 digs.
Sabrina Garcia led ASU with 21 kills; Sharma Ridley added 11 kills and 17 digs; and Jillian Anderson had 10 kills. Jennifer Johnson collected 36 assists to go along with 12 digs and Adrienne Morris ended with 17 digs.
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