TUSKEGEE, Ala. | After eights days off following their last match, the Tuskegee University volleyball returns to the court for six matches in three days at the SIAC Crossover hosted by Albany State University this week.
Tuskegee (2-8, 2-2 SIAC) won their first two conference matches just two weeks ago at the SIAC West Cluster in Frankfort (Ky.), and will face the members of the East Division this week looking to make a move in the conference standings.
Currently, the Lady Golden Tigers are in fourth place in the SIAC West Division, trailing LeMoyne-Owen by one game in the win column for third. They open the SIAC Crossover with Claflin (0-1, 0-0 SIAC), who just opened their season one week ago under a new coaching staff, on Thursday at 10 am (est). They will also play Benedict (2-3, 0-0 SIAC) on the opening day at 2 pm (est).
Following their two matches on Thursday, Tuskegee will play three matches on Friday beginning with Paine (2-2, 0-1 SIAC) at 8 am (est). They will conclude the day with matches against Clark Atlanta (1-4, 0-0 SIAC) and Fort Valley State (2-0, 0-0 SIAC). The final match of the SIAC Crossover for Tuskegee takes place against Albany State (2-7, 1-0 SIAC) on Saturday morning beginning at 9 am (est).
Last season, the Lady Golden Tigers split their six matches in the Crossover by defeating Paine, Benedict and Fort Valley State.
A pair of freshman currently lead Tuskegee in kills during the 2016 season as
Taliyana Bryant and
Jessica Johnson each have recorded 72 kills through 10 matches. Meanwhile,
Shakayia Wilson has added 57 and sophomore
Donovan Wingfield 53 kills to lead the way in the early part of the schedule. The four have combined for 254 of the team's 319 kills this season, or 79.6 percent of the offense.
Meanwhile, sophomore
Janae Graham has made the move successfully from defensive specialist a year ago to setter this year. The sophomore leads the team with 254 assists in 34 sets, averaging 7.47 assists per set. Defensively,
Zahria Radford continues to lead Tuskegee with 151 digs – almost 100 more than her closest teammate (Graham at 56).
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