FRANKFORT, Ky. – The Tuskegee volleyball team closed out the SIAC Cluster hosted by Kentucky State on Saturday with a pair of competitive matchups, falling 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 18-25, 23-25) to host Kentucky State before dropping a heartbreaking five-set battle (17-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-23, 10-15) to Central State.
KENTUCKY STATE 3, TUSKEGEE 1
In the opener against Kentucky State, Tuskegee started strong and captured the opening set 25-21 behind a balanced offensive attack led by Najwa Williams and Sian Sprinkle, who combined for six kills in the frame.
The Golden Tigers hit .286 as a team in the set, using a run in the middle of the set, taking a 12-8 lead to establish momentum before later taking it 25-21.
Kentucky State answered in the second set, edging Tuskegee 25-23 after a late push to even the match. The Thorobreds maintained control in the third with a 25-18 win before fending off a late Tuskegee rally in the fourth to take the match 25-23.
Williams led the way for the Golden Tigers with nine kills, three blocks, two aces, and two digs. Coleman added seven kills on .333 hitting, while Sprinkle finished with seven kills on .545 hitting, three blocks and a pair of digs.
Setters Mikea Allen and Sahnee Dillahunt-Nedd directed the offense with a combined 33 assists and 15 digs, while Jasmine Brantley anchored the back row with 15 digs.
Tuskegee finished with 40 kills and a .167 team hitting percentage but was undone by 21 attack errors, while Kentucky State capitalized on key late-set runs to secure the win.
CENTRAL STATE 3, TUSKEGEE 2
In their second match of the day, the Golden Tigers went the distance against Central State in one of the weekend's most exciting contests.
Tuskegee dropped the opening set 25-17 but responded with a dominant 25-16 win in the second, fueled by four kills from Zariah Messick and strong net play from Jordyn Jones.
The Marauders narrowly took the third set 25-22, but Tuskegee showed resilience, battling back to win the fourth 25-23 after a trio of kills from Williams and three other Golden Tigers combining for six kills.
In the decisive fifth, Central State jumped ahead early and held off a late Tuskegee push to win 15-10.
Messick led the Tuskegee offense in game two with 12 kills on .188 hitting, while Williams and Jones both added eight kills, with Jones adding five total blocks.
Tuskegee posted 45 kills and a .145 hitting percentage compared to Central State's 52 kills on .206 hitting. The Golden Tigers move to 8-6 overall and 3-5 in SIAC play after the weekend cluster, having gone 2-2 across four matches.
Up Next
Tuskegee will now have a small break from conference play as they travel to take on Tougaloo on Tuesday, Oct. 4, in Jackson, Mississippi. Conference play resumes next weekend with another SIAC Cluster, this time hosted in Memphis, Tennessee.
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