Fort Valley, Georgia-Edward Waters was able to back up their claim to being the best men's volleyball team in the SIAC this season as the #1 seed Tigers knocked of #2 seed and defending champion Central State, 3-1 to clinch the 2023 Cricket SIAC Men's Volleyball Championship Friday afternoon at HPE Arena.
The Tigers started Set #1 out neck and neck before going on a four point run to take a 14-10 lead. Edward Waters maintained that cushion from that point on to cruise to a 25-17 victory and a 1-0 lead in the match. Set #2 saw Edward Waters dart out to a 7-3 lead before the Marauders went on a 4-0 run to tie things up. The Tigers later posted another critical four point run to swing momentum back their way to take a 12-8 lead. Central State closed the deficit to two but EWU darted back out to an 18-13 lead. EWU took what appeared to be a commanding 2-0 lead thanks to a 25-21 victory in the set.
Knowing that Central State was not going to roll over and surrender their championship easily, the Marauders capitalized on several Tiger mistakes in the third set, building a three point lead. EWU clawed their way back to knot things up at 6-6, but a 3-0 Marauder run gave the defending champs a 9-6 advantage. The Tigers fired back with a solid run to tie the set up at 10-10 and even took a one point lead at 12-11. Central State again answered with an emphatic 4-0 run to lead 15-12. EWU would later square things up again at 19-19, but Central State denied the Tigers a sweep of the match, winning 25-22 to extend things.
SIAC Coach of the Year Lauren Ford exhorted her charges to "Do The Work" in the fourth set and close things out. The Tigers responded with a solid effort in the set. Set #4 was a back-and forth affair between the two teams with the match squared up at 16-16. Edward Waters showed their championship resolve by going on a 3-0 run to take a 19-16 lead. Faced with two Championship points, a two-hit error from Central State was the final nail in the Marauder coffin as the Tigers were able to avenge last year's championship game loss and complete a perfect run through the league in both the regular season and tournament. Additionally, the victory signifies the first SIAC postseason championship for any athletics team at Edward Waters University.
Edward Waters finished the matchup with a .315 hitting percentage on 50 kills, while holding a vaunted Central State offense to .127 and 40 kills. EWU's defensive effort was superb in the title game as well with nine team blocks and 48 digs to five and 39 for the Marauders. Leading the way for the Tigers was Evens Edouard who turned in a match high 20 kills, just one shy of tying the championship game record. Edouard also had 15 digs to complete a phenomenal double-double effort. Bryan Pepen finished with 12 kills and seven digs, while Kaelen Ingram notched 10 kills for the Tigers. Joelvi Jimenez led the Tigers defense with six blocks, while Edouard had five. Jhoan Capellan capped off the title game with a match high 41 assists.
For their efforts over the two days, Bryan Pepen and Jhoan Capellan were named to the SIAC All-Tournament Team, while Evens Edouard received the ultimate honor, being named the 2023 SIAC Men's Volleyball Championship Most Valuable Player award.
Edward Waters closes out their remarkable 2023 campaign with a 16-4 overall record, a perfect 10-0 regular season mark against SIAC competition, the first undefeated regular season in conference history, their second SIAC regular season crown and now the tournament championship. The squad also had four players on the SIAC All-Conference Team, including the conference Setter of the Year in Kenyon Haynes.
A replay of the SIAC title game can be seen at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITMMMiCy8OA
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