MOBILE, Ala.- The Savannah State volleyball began their quest for a conference title on Thursday morning by defeating Central State 3-2 in the opening round of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament which was played in the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center on the campus of Spring Hill.

In the process, two team records were broken. The win over CSU marked a new single-season wins record as the Lady Tigers improved to 16-10 overall. The victory also allowed Amiyah Walker to become the single season assist leader with 725.

The 2024 SSU team set the single season win record with 15 victories a year ago and Walker broke the single season assist record of 702 which was set in 2023 by Jessee Grubesic.

In the match with Central State, the Lady Tigers won the opening set 25-20 but lost the next set 25-17. SSU claimed the third set 25-14 but fell 25-17 in the fourth set. In the fifth and deciding set, Savannah State held on for a 15-12 victory.

SSU was the third seed in the SIAC East while Central State was the second seed in the SIAC West.

Savannah State, who had a .524 hitting percentage in the first set, started the set by scoring the first four points. A kill by Walker started a 6-0 run by SSU for a 11-2 lead. After the Marauders cut their deficit to 12-7, SSU scored the next five points to increase their advantage to 17-7. Down 21-12, Central State scored the next seven points as part of a 9-2 run to pull within 23-20. But SSU would end the set with a block by Mina Ezikpe and a kill by Savannah Everett.

SSU erased a nine-point deficit in the second set with a 5-0 run to make the score 20-16. With the score 21-17, the Marauders finished the set with the next four points to tie the match at 1-1.

In the third set, Savannah State had two 4-0 runs and a 3-0 run to put Central State away. SSU started the set with the first four points and ended it with the final three points.

The Lady Tigers led 2-0 in the fourth set before Central State answered with a 12-1 spurt. Down by 11, Savannah State was able to whittle their deficit to six but could not get any closer.

In the fifth and deciding set, SSU led 13-8 before the Marauders stormed back to slice Savannah State's lead to 13-12 but a kill by Nyalah Smith and an ace by Saniaa Dickey was enough to give the Lady Tigers the hard fought win.

Aniyah Parks had a triple-double for SSU with 11 kills, 18 assists and 14 digs. Amiyah Walker added a double-double, finishing with 25 assists and 21 digs.

Nyalah Smith had 18 kills and Savannah Everett added 15. Saniaa Dickey ended up with 11 digs and Kira Raby chipped in 10. Mina Ezikpe finished with four blocks while Dickey, Raby, Walker and Everett all had two aces.

Savannah State will play Fort Valley State, the top seed in the SIAC East, on Friday in the semifinals at 5 p.m.

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