ALBANY, Ga. — Edward Waters University Women's Volleyball closed out the SIAC Crossover on a high note Saturday, bouncing back from a straight-set loss to Miles College with a hard-fought five-set victory over Lane College at the HPER Gym on the campus of Albany State University.
The Lady Tigers went 1-1 on the second and final day of the crossover, falling to Miles 3-0 (20-25, 16-25, 12-25) before defeating Lane 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 24-26, 15-8). The victory over Lane improved Edward Waters to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in SIAC play.
Miles Takes Saturday Opener
Edward Waters opened Day 2 against Miles and battled early before the Golden Bears gradually pulled away.
The Lady Tigers stayed within striking distance in the opening set before Miles secured a 25-20 victory. Miles followed with wins of 25-16 and 25-12 to complete the three-set sweep.
Heylianis Aquino paced the EWU attack with six kills and added a service ace, while Norah Laurore and Kalia Williams recorded four kills apiece. Jewel Helmuth added three kills and was active at the net with one solo block and one block assist.
Freshman Naraiya Thompson led Edward Waters with 11 assists and added five digs, while Shaniah Jones dished out nine assists and also recorded five digs. Defensively, Ayanna Blocker led the Lady Tigers with nine digs.
Miles finished with 32 kills while hitting .229 as a team, compared with 25 kills for Edward Waters.
Lady Tigers Outlast Lane in Five
Edward Waters responded in its final match of the weekend with one of its most balanced performances of the young season.
The Lady Tigers jumped out to a two-set advantage, taking the opener 25-21 before claiming the second set 25-22. Lane refused to go away, however, edging EWU 25-23 in the third and 26-24 in the fourth to force a deciding fifth set.
With the match hanging in the balance, Edward Waters took control of the final frame and closed out Lane with a decisive 15-8 victory, securing its first SIAC win of the season.
The Lady Tigers featured a balanced offensive attack with four players recording at least nine kills. Genesis Melenciano led EWU with 12 kills, while Laurore finished with 11 kills on a .250 hitting percentage. Helmuth added 10 kills while hitting .261, and Brooklyn Jones chipped in nine kills.
Edward Waters also received a strong all-around effort from Autumn James, who registered seven kills on a .227 hitting percentage, three service aces and 15 digs. James' 15 digs were a team high, while Shaniah Jones added 14 and Brooklyn Jones contributed 12. Thompson and Blocker each finished with 11 digs as EWU matched Lane with 77 digs for the match.
The Lady Tigers' setters helped distribute the offense throughout the five-set battle. Thompson led the way with 24 assists, while Shaniah Jones added 19. Edward Waters finished with 51 assists on its 51 kills.
EWU also caused problems from the service line and at the net. The Lady Tigers recorded 13 service aces, led by three apiece from James, Thompson and Dimaliz Figueroa. Zakiyyah Abdul spearheaded the blocking effort with two solo blocks and seven block assists, while Laurore added six block assists. Edward Waters finished with three solo blocks and 18 block assists.
After Lane forced the deciding set, Edward Waters delivered one of its most efficient stretches of the match, committing only three attack errors in the fifth and hitting .200 while holding Lane to a .059 percentage.
The victory gave the Lady Tigers a positive finish to their weekend in Albany after four matches over two days.
Edward Waters will now return to Jacksonville and turn its attention to its SIAC home opener against Savannah State University. The Lady Tigers and Savannah State will square off at 6:00 p.m. inside the Adams-Jenkins Community Sports & Music Complex.
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