ATHENS, Ga. – The Savannah State University volleyball team started the 2016 campaign under first year head coach Edric Poitier with a 3-0 (15-25, 15-25, 16-25) loss to the University of San Francisco Friday afternoon to start the Benson Invitational.
 
Graduate student outside hitter Justice Dilworth, senior setter Caitlynn Masoe and freshman outside hitter Dominic Ingraham led the team with five kills each, while Masoe added four digs and five assists. Senior libero led the team with nine digs, while junior setter Alee Quint led the team with 13 assists and added four digs.
 
San Francisco scored 12 of the first 15 points in the opening set, but the Lady Tigers scored the next three points to cut the Dons lead to seven, 13-6.  USF scored five of the next seven points to increase its lead to 10, 18-8, but SSU scored the next three points to bring the lead back to seven, 18-11.  USF outscored SSU 7-4 during the rest of the set to capture a 10-point set win and to take a 1-0 lead.  Dilworth led the team with three kills on six attempts for a hitting percentage of .500, while Masoe added two kills, a service ace and three digs during the set.
 
The Lady Tigers scored the first two points of the second stanza to take a 2-0 lead, but San Francisco scored the next four points to take a two-point lead, 4-2.  USF scored six of the next seven points to take a seven-point lead, 10-3, but the Lady Tigers scored eight of the next 10 points to close within a point, 12-11, forcing a USF timeout.  The Dons scored 13 of the next 17 points to capture a 10-point set win and to take a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.   Ingraham led the team with three kills on four attempts for a hitting percentage of .750 during the set.
 
San Francisco scored nine of the first 10 points in the final frame to capture a 9-1 lead, but the Lady Tigers scored the next three points to close within five, 9-4.  The Dons outscored SSU 14-8 to take a 24-14 lead, but the Lady Tigers, facing match point, scored the next two points before a USF kill ended the match to give the Dons a nine-point set win and the 3-0 match win.
 
The Dons were led by Emily Reed with 13 kills and had a .407 hitting percentage, while Trish Koutsoukos led the team with 19 assists and Camille Araujo led the team with 15 digs. 
 
The Lady Tigers finish the Benson Invitational with a doubleheader on Saturday.  SSU starts the day with host Georgia at 1 p.m., followed by UNC Asheville at 4 p.m.  The Georgia match can be seen on SEC+ and WatchESPN app here.
 
Short Box Score (Match)
The Automated ScoreBook
Savannah State vs San Francisco (Aug 26, 2016 at Athens, Ga.)
 
San Francisco def. Savannah State 25-15,25-15,25-16
 
  Savannah State (0-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) - DILWORTH,Justice 5-0-0;
  MASOE,Caitlynn 5-1-0; INGRAHAM,Dominic 5-0-1; LIPSCOMB,Autumn 1-0-0;
  MONROE,Alaina 1-0-0; COLBERT,Charlinda 1-0-0; NATHANIEL,Gabrielle
  1-1-0; OFODILE,Chinenye 0-0-1; Totals 19-2-1.0. (Assists) - QUINT,
  Alee 13. (Dig leaders) - WASHINGTON,Alexis 9; MASOE,Caitlynn 4
 
  San Francisco (1-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) - REED, Emily 13-1-3;
  Ashman,Kate 8-3-2; Adamcikova,Tyna 6-1-2; Lavik,Buvarp Nora 4-1-1;
  Oskam,Marjolijn 3-0-2; Green,Montana 0-0-1; Koutsoukos,Trish 0-1-0;
  GUTIERREZ, Kim 0-1-0; Araujo,Camille 0-5-0; Totals 34-13-7.0.
  (Assists) - Koutsoukos,Trish 19. (Dig leaders) - Araujo,Camille 15;
  Adamcikova,Tyna 7
 
  Site: Athens, Ga. (Ramsey Center)
  Date: Aug 26, 2016   Attend: 42   Time: 1:19   
  Referees: Denise Penzkofer, Gloria Cox
 
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