Women's Volleyball 9/19/2014 11:19:00 AM

Dilworth Leads Volleyball In Loss

Box Score

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Savannah State junior Justice Dilworth recorded her first career double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs on Thursday night in a 1-3 loss to Alabama A&M.

The Lady Tigers came of the gate firing against the Lady Bulldogs in their first home game after a seven-game road trip. The perennial Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) powerhouse were caught off guard in the first set as SSU took a 9-7 lead on a kill from Dilworth.

SSU maintained a lead midway through, but Alabama A&M caught up with back-to-back kills that knotted up the set at 13. Soon afterwards, two costly SSU errors tied the game at 17.

Out of a timeout, Caitlynn Masoe, Gabrielle Nathaniel and Dilworth all recorded kills to lift SSU to a 19-17 lead. Christian Lyle recorded a kill and Dilworth slammed down an ace to lift the Lady Tigers to a 23-20 lead, forcing the visitors to take a timeout.

Lyle finished off the 25-21 win for SSU with back-to-back kills on sets from Masoe, giving the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead into the second set.

SSU continued the momentum into the second game as newcomer Elexius Harris recorded four straight service points, tying the set at 5 all early on.

After the SSU run, it quickly became a tale of two sets. The Lady Bulldogs took control midway through with a 6-0 run, taking a 13-7 lead.

Masoe registered three service points, cutting A&M's lead to 15-11, but the effort was short lived as the visitors continued to push ahead. Down the stretch, Alabama A&M tied up the match on back-to-back kills from Kyanna Sales for a 25-17 set win.

In the third set, Masoe opened with six service points, including three straight aces to lift SSU to a 6-0 lead. The Lady Bulldogs responded with a 9-1 run for a 9-7 lead, prompting the Lady Tigers to take a timeout.

The Lady Bulldogs took control of the set down the stretch going up 15-10 on a bad set from SSU. The Lady Tigers fought to get back into the set, cutting the visitor's lead to 17-15 on a kill from Dilworth.

The effort fell short though as A&M took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-16 set win.

It was all A&M in the fourth and final set as they opened with a 6-2 run, and then extended their lead to 12-6, prompting SSU to pause. Out of the timeout, the Lady Bulldogs continued the push with an 8-2 run for a 20-8 lead.

Alabama A&M sealed up their fourth win of the season with a 3-1 match victory on a 25-15 fourth set win. The Lady Tigers fall to 2-8 overall on the season.

Dilworth's double-double led the field, while Nathaniel followed with eight kills. Alexis Washington followed in digs with nine. Sales led the visitors with 10 digs, while Rebecca Cortez led in digs with 13.

The Lady Tigers continue on Friday evening with a nonconference match against Tougaloo College. The match is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Willcox-Wiley. Admission is free.

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