Fort Valley, Georgia-For the second consecutive year, the Edward Waters men's volleyball squad will play for an SIAC Tournament Championship as the #1 seeded Tigers swept their way past #4 seed and host school Fort Valley State in the semifinal round of the 2023 Cricket SIAC Men's Volleyball Championship, Thursday afternoon at HPE Arena.

Edward Waters (15-4, 10-0 SIAC) were able to rest during the first round of action, thanks to a bye they earned by being one of the top two seeds in the tournament. The Tigers took full advantage of that extra rest and came out firing early and often in the match. As a team, Edward Waters racked up an impressive .409 hitting percentage on 50 kills, while holding Fort Valley State (8-20, 4-6 SIAC) to .067 on 26 kills. The Purple and Orange also got it done defensively with eight total blocks and 26 digs as a team.

Evens Edouard and SIAC Second Team selection Bryan Pepen tied for the match high in kills with 15 a piece to lead the way for the Tigers, while fellow Second Team member Kaelen Ingram finished with 12 kills. Dillon Taylor led the EWU defensive charge, turning away six Wildcat attempts, while Pepen chipped in with four blocks and Ingram finishing with two. Jhoan Capellan dished out a match high 40 assists in the match, while Oneil Daley led with seven digs for Edward Waters.

It will be a matchup of the top two seeds in the tournament and rematch of last year's tournament final on Friday afternoon as Edward Waters will face #2 seed and defending champion Central State in this year's title game. The roles were reversed last season with Central State being the #1 seed and winning a five set thriller in last year's championship game over #2 seed Edward Waters. The Tigers have had a better go of it this season, winning both regular season matchups with the Marauders. In seven sets played this season against Central State, Edward Waters has dropped just one. 

First serve of the 2023 Cricket SIAC Men's Volleyball Championship Game is set for 1:00pm and can be seen on the SIAC's YouTube Channel.

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