BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
Miles remained winless with a loss to Shorter (25-12, 25-16, 25-13) Tuesday night at Knox-Windham Gymnasium in the Lady Bears' home opener. However, the progress the young team is making is evident, especially compared to its performance against the Lady Hawks two weeks ago.
The hitting percentage was more than 200 points higher, with more kills and fewer errors. The Lady Bears even held the lead early during the second and third games, but it was not enough to earn a victory. Still, the individual performances from a roster that features just two returners - and one senior - are starting to build momentum toward a winning product.
The Lady Bears were dominated early. Errors on five of the first eight points were a big part in Shorter opening a 13-3 lead in the opening set. Miles never got closer than nine points the rest of the way and offered little resistance in dropping the opening set. But in Set 2, the team started to show signs of life.
A kill by
Kayla Trawick (4-4-16, one block, five digs) and a service ace by
Aaliyah Sanders (11 digs) gave the Lady Bears an 8-7 lead. The Lady Hawks went back in front, but
Kandace Griffin was part of two combo blocks - one with
Jadyn McGhee and the other with
Zion Williams - that closed the game to 13-11. But Shorter was able to slowly pull away and back-to-back Miles' attack errors helped close out the middle frame.
Saraih Taylor (10 assists, two digs) had a service ace, then set up
Kendall Townsend to give Miles an early 4-2 lead in the final set. A kill by Trawick and a combo block by Trawick and Williams gave the Lady Bears a 7-6 advantage. But 10 straight points as part of a 13-1 run put the final set out of reach. The team seemed to run out of gas, making as many attack errors in the final set as they did in the first two combined.
Townsend was the team's top hitter (8-4-17, .235), while McGhee, Williams, and Griffin each had two blocks during the contest for Miles, which is back in action on Monday when it hosts Talladega. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors seven men's and six women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.