FORT VALLEY, Ga.- Fort Valley State University men's volleyball are the champions once again taking down Edward Waters University 3-1 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tournament Championship, Wednesday evening.
FVSU took the first set 25-16, fell in the second set 25-23, won set three 25-16 then capped off the championship with a fourth set 25-21 win. As a team, the Wildcats hit .500 in set one, .231 in the second set, .565 in the third and .423 in the final set.
The Tigers struck first to kick off the match, but the Wildcats took control on a five-point run with
Jaxon Hicks behind service line, 5-1. EWU got the serve back but FVSU went to work with a three-point run to further the lead to 8-2 with
Rashaun Wright serving. A couple more three-point runs solidified the win and Fort Valley took the 25-16 set win on an Edward Waters service error.
The Tigers struck first in the second set 1-0. The set was tit-for-tat the in its entirety. EWU was able to take the set 25-23 on a kill and a Wildcats error on the final two points.
The Wildcats were out for revenge in the third set, scoring three unanswered points with Hicks serving. Fort Valley answered a pair of EWU points with yet another three-point run this time at the fourth point and Wright behind the line. At point 11, FVSU answered with three kills including two off the hand of
Taviian Martin. A service error from the Tigers and an ace from Hicks brought a 25-16 set three victory.
The fourth set was back and forth with the separation for the Wildcats coming on a handful of three-point runs. The first lead and turning point for Fort Valley was at the third point which sent
Isaiah Fedd to serve. The second run came on the eighth point with Hicks serving. Fedd behind the service line again, led to a three-point run at the 14th point. Hicks claimed the 25-21 set win and match win for FVSU with a kill.
Fedd and Martin had the hot swings tonight leading the offense with 18 and 16 kills, respectively. Hicks also had a hot arm with 11 kills. Each of them hit .400 or above with Martin having the best percentage at .464.
Oshane Farquharson led the setting effort with 37 assists through four sets. In the service ace department, Hicks led the charge with four.
The Wildcats recorded 13 total blocks with seven being solos.
Raheem Thomas, Wright, and Martin led the effort all tallying two. Thomas doubled as the leader in block assists with two.
Jaequon Henderson led the digs effort with 13 and Fedd was not far behind him with 11.
The Wildcats await the NCAA Tournament bracket to be announced to determine the next contest. They conclude the SIAC season a perfect 12-0 and a perfect 2-0 in the tournament.
