BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | The Tuskegee University volleyball team split their two matches Wednesday on the opening day of the SIAC Volleyball Championship, falling to Benedict and defeating Miles, to remain alive at the Birmingham Crossplex.
In the day's opening match, Tuskegee (13-18) fell to Benedict 3-1 (20-25,17-25,25-18,25-23) in the day's opening match, despite two players in double figure kills.
Jessica Johnson finished the day with 12 kills on 39 attempts, while
Taliyana Bryant finished with 11 on 31 attempts.
Janae Graham, a second team All-SIAC selection, finished with 33 of the team's 37 assists.
Zahria Radford, a second team All-SIAC selection finished with 15 digs in the opening match, while
Kiara Hooks came off the bench to add 13.
Avery Brown also added 10 digs, giving the Lady Golden Tigers three players in double figure digs.
Aaliyah Lawson led Benedict with 15 kills, while V'Aira Harris added 13 in the win in which Benedict took a 2-0 lead before Tuskegee battled back to take the third set and narrowly lost the fourth set.
The Lady Golden Tigers had their backs against the wall in their second match of the day, needing a win to extend their season and win they did in three sets over Miles 3-0 (25-14,25-19,25-12). The Lady Golden Tigers scored the first point of the night and didn't look back in any of the three sets, which led to head coach
Melissa Robinson holding on to all of her timeouts for the first time all season.
Bryant led Tuskegee with 12 kills in the final match of the day, while Johnson added 11 in the victory. - as the duo finished with 46 combined kills in the two matches. Graham finished with 34 of the team's 38 assists in the victory, and Radford finished with 13 digs - giving her 28 for the two matches.
Tuskegee will play the loser of the Clark Atlanta-Kentucky State match that will be played at 7 pm, tomorrow morning at 10 amin an elimination match.
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