Box Score Albany, Ga. – In front of an energetic home crowd inside the Jones Brothers HPER Complex, the Albany State women's volleyball team battled through a five-set thriller but came up just short, falling 2-3 to rival Fort Valley State on Friday evening. The loss marks the Lady Golden Rams' first conference defeat of the season, dropping them to 7-9 overall and 6-1 in SIAC play, while the Lady Wildcats improve to 6-4, 5-2 in SIAC.
The highly anticipated matchup lived up to the rivalry hype, with both teams trading points and momentum throughout. Albany State came out strong, taking the opening set with a dominant offensive display, but Fort Valley State responded by claiming the next two. The Lady Golden Rams rallied in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth, but a late push by the Wildcats secured the match victory.
Albany State's offensive attack was balanced and relentless.
Jarianis Perez led the charge with a double-double performance, recording 15 kills, 10 digs, two assists, and two blocks.
Jayda Watson added 10 kills, four digs, and two blocks, while
Shaniya Banks dominated at the net with eight kills and eight blocks, setting the tone defensively.
Josiya Teague also contributed 10 kills, showcasing her power on the outside.
Senior setter
Natalie Onozie orchestrated the offense with precision, dishing out 26 assists to go along with three kills and four service aces. She shared setting duties with
Liannette Burgos, who tallied 21 assists and seven digs. Talia
Smith anchored the defense with 16 digs and three assists, while
Myra Lopez added five digs and one ace to round out the back row performance.
Up next, Albany State will look to bounce back as they hit the road for Memphis, Tenn, to compete in the West Cluster of the SIAC Crossover Tournament hosted by LeMoyne-Owen College on October 10-11.
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ABOUT ALBANY STATE ATHLETICS
Albany State University is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II-level intercollegiate athletic program. The university currently fields teams in 11 sports: women's volleyball, women's tennis, women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, softball, men's and women's track and field, women's soccer, baseball, and football with all teams compete in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), except women's soccer, which participates in the Peach Belt Conference.
