Jacksonville, Florida-Edward Waters entered Monday's matchup with visiting Albany State with two main goals in mind. First, to dominate and win the match and secondly, to take control of the SIAC East Division with the upcoming SIAC Tournament coming up soon. In front of as raucous crowd at the James Weldon Johnson Auxiliary Gym, the Lady Tigers were able to do that and then some, sweping the Golden Rams 3-0, avenging their earlier season five set loss at ASU, and taking a stranglehold of first place in the SIAC East.
Edward Waters (22-9, 15-2 SIAC) had to withstand an early onslaught from Albany State (16-7, 15-3 SIAC) in the first set. Albany State led by as many as three points in the opening set, before Edward Waters rallied back at the midway point to take a 14-13 lead. The Lady Tigers once again faced a three point hole as ASU went on a 5-2 run to take a 19-16 lead. From there, the Lady Tigers once again fired back with a 9-5 run and ultimately finished of ASU to take a 25-23 win and lead the match 1-0.
Set #2 went back and forth until the midway point, when Edward Waters began to separate themselves to lead 14-13. The Golden Rams would not go away and retook the lead at 16-15, but again EWU fired back with a strong run of their own to take back control at 20-17. From there, the Purple & Orange were able to cruise to a 25-19 win and take a commanding 2-0 match lead.
The third set was as dominant as Edward Waters has been in a match this season. The Lady Tigers started off on a 6-0 run to start the set, before Albany State could earn a point. That was a microcosm of what the remainder of the set would be as The Lady Tigers ended up winning the set 25-15 and clinched a convincing 3-0 sweep of the Golden Rams.
Edward Waters as a team outhit Albany State .209 to .192 in the match including five service aces. The Lady Tigers were led by Fatima Ramirez with a match high 12 kills and nine digs, while Audrianna Jones and Katarina Ribar each finished with seven kills. Mataiya Barber dished out 27 assists, while Andrea Diaz Merced finished her night with nine total digs.
The Lady Tigers will begin a two-game road trip starting on Wednesday, November 1st in Savannah against Savannah State starting at 6:00pm.
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