ALBANY, Ga. -- The Miles volleyball team endured a 16-hour day Thursday when it traveled to the SIAC Volleyball Crossover at Albany State. But the long hours had a fruitful result as the Lady Bears won matches against Fort Valley State and Paine, snapping a six-match skid and breathing some confidence into a budding program.
Alexus Moore and
Skyler Johnson (22 kills) gave outstanding performances at the net while
Kayla Ford (66 assists),
Lauren Moorer (21 digs) and
Kamara Daughtry (18 digs) sparked the squad from other points on the court.
Match 1: Miles 3, Fort Valley State 0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-23)
Moore had 10 kills, Johnson had nine kills, hit .333 (9-3-18) and added nine digs, and the Lady Bears held the Wildcats to -.041 hitting as a team to sweep the match that stopped the losing streak. Freshman Brianna Brown (four kills) struggled but provided the early energy for Miles while
Antwaneshia Green (3-0-11, .273) had a couple of timely kills to slow any FVSU momentum. Ford (28 assists, three aces, seven digs, two kills) was an all-around machine, setting up the big hitters the entire match. Moorer had a team-high 10 digs for the Lady Bears.
Match 2: Miles 3, Paine 2 (16-25, 25-17, 25-11, 17-25, 15-12)
In a match that started after 7 p.m. local time, it would have been no surprise if the Lady Bears succumbed to the Lady Lions after a five-hour trip that started before daybreak.But Miles, running on fumes by the fifth set, found a way to perserve in grabbing an exciting victory. Johnson (13 kills, 10 digs, .303) was phenominal while Ford (38 assists) continued to set Moore (12 kills) and
Alexis Reed (11 kills).
In the opening set, it did not look as if Miles would be doing much celebrating at the end of the match. Paine took advantage of a sluggish Lady Bears squad and rolled to the win. But a second wind came over the team, which quickly re-established its winning ways in taking the next two sets. The third set may have been the best all season for the Lady Bears, who hit .310 and kept the Lady Lions out of system. Things were going so well, Daughtry, a defensive specialist who had a team-high 13 digs, had the game-winning kill.
Miles opened the fourth set on a 12-5 rush and it looked like the match would end shortly thereafter. But a stunning turn of events that saw the Lady Bears make continuous attack errors and struggle with serve receive saw Paine bounce back and force a deciding set. The Lady Bears, though, would recompse themselves, started strong and when Reed made the block at the net, completed an arduous day with the five-set win.
Miles is back in action Friday with two matches, opening with Claflin at 9 a.m. and followed by Albany State at 1 p.m.
