MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Wildcats' long trip across Tennessee proved fruitful on Friday. Fort Valley State did not drop a set and swept past both LeMoyne-Owen College and Lane College by identical 3-0 women's volleyball finals.
The Wildcats allowed the host Magicians only 35 points in the three set with scores of 25-13, 25-12 and 25-10. FVSU had to work harder in the night match as it turned a two-point deficit into a 9-7 lead and never gave up the advantage for a 25-19 opening set against Lane. Tied at 21 in set number two, Antonique Coleman pounded the final point of four-straight for a 25-21 Wildcat win. With a 21-20 edge in the third set, Dakotah Holmes capped the night with her 11th kill and ended the match (25-23).
With the pair of wins, FVSU improve to 8-2 on the season and 6-2 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East standings. The Wildcat win over the Magicians (1-12/0-8 SIAC West) was its third in a row in the series and it was highlighted with 16 service aces. FVSU snapped a three-game losing streak to Lane (3-13/2-7 SIAC West) with the first win of the series since Sept. 27 of 2019.
In the two matches, Laiani McCullough guided the offense with 29 total assists, three aces and 10 digs. Jayhra Thomas added 23 assists, three aces and 10 digs as the other setter. Libero Sarah Rosario dug 16 attacks, lined three aces and had seven assists.
Along the front line, Holmes totaled 16 kills with a team-high six in the first match and 10 in the latter one with 13 digs and three aces. Benaye Kyle accounted for 18 kills where she had a team-best 13 winners in the Lane contest with two errors in 23 attempts for a .478 percentage along with 13 combined digs and four aces.
Coleman downed 10 kills without an error in 20 attacks for a .500 percentage in the two matches while she added five aces and five blocks. Caytlyn Sanford and Laila Hilton chipped in nine and eight kills and a combined six total blocks.
FVSU will try to make it a clean sweep of the weekend trio of matches when it faces Tuskegee University in a 12 p.m. EST first serve.
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