COLUMBIA, S.C. –
Clark Atlanta opened Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 3-0 sweep of Allen on Thursday evening inside Adams Gymnasium.
The Lady Panthers secured the victory by set scores of 25-18, 25-11 and 26-24, improving to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Allen fell to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the SIAC.
Clark Atlanta overcame an early 8-3 deficit in the opening set. The Lady Panthers pulled even at 10 on a kill from
Sydney Ray before scoring the next two points to take their first lead. CAU later used kills from
Brianna Little and
Carmella Jones, followed by a
Sawyer Arbuckle service ace, to extend its advantage to 18-12. A service error by Allen closed the set at 25-18.
The Lady Panthers controlled the second set from the opening serve, jumping ahead 3-0 and stretching the lead to 8-2. Clark Atlanta later scored five consecutive points with
Antonique Coleman serving to build a 16-5 advantage.
Carmella Jones finished the dominant 25-11 set with a kill assisted by Ray.
Allen responded in the third set, erasing an early 4-1 CAU lead with seven unanswered points. The teams battled through eight ties and five lead changes before the Yellow Jackets took a 23-19 advantage late in the frame.
Facing the possibility of a fourth set, Clark Atlanta answered with five straight points. Coleman began the rally with a kill before
Kai Harris added another. Allen committed three consecutive attack errors to give the Lady Panthers a 24-23 lead. After the Yellow Jackets tied the set at 24, a bad set put CAU back in front before Harris delivered the match-clinching kill for the 26-24 victory.
Reagan Gatlin led Clark Atlanta with nine kills, while Harris added eight kills and hit .267. Coleman finished with six kills, three solo blocks and a .308 hitting percentage, and Little recorded six kills while hitting .273.
Ray directed the offense with 29 assists.
Nakayla James led the defensive effort with 12 digs, while Arbuckle contributed eight digs and two service aces.
Clark Atlanta finished with 35 kills, 44 digs, three service aces, and four solo blocks while holding Allen to a .020 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT
The Lady Panthers continue conference play as they head down to Albany, Georgia for the SIAC Crossover I on Sept. 18-19
FOLLOW CLARK ATLANTA ATHLETICS
For complete coverage of Clark Atlanta athletics, follow the Panthers on social media: X (
@cauathletics), Facebook (
CAUAthletics) and Instagram (
@cauathletics).
FOLLOW THE SIAC
Stay connected by following the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on
Facebook,
Instagram and
X @TheSIAC.
SIAC NEWS
Sign up for SIAC News to be among the first to receive media releases, updates and more!
ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is an NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) headquartered 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 nine men's and eight women's sports and is a proud member of NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.