ALBANY, Ga. — Albany State University volleyball opened SIAC play with a pair of victories Friday, defeating Tuskegee in a five-set thriller before sweeping Kentucky State on the opening day of the SIAC Crossover at Jones Brothers HPER Gymnasium.
The two victories moved Albany State to 2-0 in conference play and continued the Golden Rams' recent success against both programs. ASU has now won 10 consecutive meetings against both Tuskegee and Kentucky State.
Game 1: Albany State 3, Tuskegee 2
Albany State opened the day with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Tuskegee, winning 25-7, 26-24, 20-25, 31-33 and 15-12.
The Golden Rams came out firing, dominating the opening set 25-7 before edging Tuskegee 26-24 in the second to take a 2-0 advantage.
Tuskegee answered in the third with a 25-20 victory before the match turned into a battle in the fourth. The two teams traded points throughout an extended set, with neither side able to pull away. Albany State had opportunities to close out the match, but Tuskegee eventually prevailed 33-31 to force a decisive fifth set.
The Golden Rams regrouped in the fifth and closed out the match with a 15-12 victory to earn their first conference win of the season.
Amiria Anderson led the ASU attack with a match-high 22 kills while hitting .300. Aleiah Carr added 16 kills with a .344 hitting percentage, while Jarianis Perez recorded 16 kills and 18 digs. Shaniya Banks finished with eight kills and four block assists.
Liannette Burgos dished out 26 assists and collected 16 digs, while Trinity Britt added 19 assists. Myra Lopez contributed 15 digs and three service aces. As a team, Albany State finished with 71 kills, 63 assists, 81 digs and 11 service aces.
Game 2: Albany State 3, Kentucky State 0
Albany State carried its momentum into the second match and made quick work of Kentucky State, sweeping the Thorobreds 25-18, 25-14 and 25-9.
Anderson once again led the Golden Rams offensively, finishing with 10 kills. Perez and Carr followed with seven kills apiece.
Albany State also caused problems from the service line. Lopez led the Golden Rams with four aces, while Perez added three and Britt recorded two.
Carr led ASU at the net with four blocks, while Banks and Serenity Jackson each contributed three. The Golden Rams used a balanced effort at setter, with Britt handing out a team-high 15 assists and Burgos adding 13.
Defensively, Lopez led the way with seven digs, Perez added four and Gabby Moore finished with three.
UP NEXT
Albany State will return to action Saturday for the final day of the SIAC Crossover. The Golden Rams will begin the day against Central State at 8:00 a.m. before closing out the tournament against Spring Hill at 6:00 p.m. inside Jones Brothers HPER Gymnasium.
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ABOUT ALBANY STATE ATHLETICS
Albany State University is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II-level intercollegiate athletic program. The university currently fields teams in 12 sports: women's volleyball, women's tennis, women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, softball, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, baseball, and football, with all teams competing in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).
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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.