ALBANY, Ga. – The Wildcats continued the program's rise Tuesday night! Fort Valley State finished the first two sets strong and went on for the sweep of rival Albany State, 3-0, and snapped an 11-match series losing streak in the process.
FVSU put the opening three points of the match on their side of the scoreboard and posted the final tallies in each set in their favor as well. The Wildcat led by as many as five points, 19-14, before the Lady Rams tied the score with the next five points. FVSU, though, set the tone for the rest of the night as it fell behind 22-20, but ran off five of the final six points capped by an Antonique Coleman kill for the 25-23 final.
ASU took an early 10-4 set number two advantage only to see FVSU go on a 13-4 spurt for a 17-14 edge. The home team eventually had a set point, 24-23, only to see FVSU take advantage of a ASU service error and then Benaye Kyle and Dakotah Holmes back-to-back kills for the 26-24 score.
The Lady Rams ran out to a 6-0 set three opening, but the Wildcats answered again with nine tallies in a row. FVSU kept building on the lead to eight points, 21-13, before Brooke Matthews solo blocked the final point, 25-16.
With the victory, FVSU not only improves to 13-7, but more importantly 11-7 in the SIAC East. ASU (17-8) continues to lead the East Division at 15-3. The Wildcats went into the night in a 3-way tie in the East standings with both Clark Atlanta and Benedict College.
The FVSU win also snapped the program's 11-match losing streak to rival ASU. The Wildcats last series victory came on Sept. 11 of 2018 by a 3-2 final in Fort Valley. The last Wildcat win in Albany has been over 15 years since before 2009.
Freshman Holmes paced the visitors' attack with a double-double of 12 kills and 14 digs to go with an ace and a block. Kyle downed eight kills with 16 digs and three assists, while Matthews chipped in four kills, four total blocks and two digs.
Coleman blocked five home attacks and had four kills and a dig. Laila Hilton added three kills and four blocks and Nia Mack had three blocks.
Jahyra Thomas had a season-high seven kills with 12 assists, six digs and an ace. Laiani McCullough finished with 14 assists and seven digs. Sarah Rosario dug 14 attacks and had six assists.
FVSU completes its regular season on Friday night, Oct. 15, at Clark Atlanta to determine if they can qualify for the SIAC Tournament. First serve is 6 p.m.
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