WILBERFORCE, Ohio -- Miles saw its six-match win streak come to an end but still managed to seize a split during the opening day of action at the Central State Cluster on Friday. The Lady Bears dropped a straight-set decision to the host Lady Marauders before dispatching Lane in three sets.
Karea Copeland (29 kills, .369 hitting percentage, 11 digs, three service aces, one block) and
Destinee Evans (12 kills, .360 hitting percentage, four blocks - two solo) were the big hitters for Miles (11-4, 5-1 SIAC), which was playing without its top two setters.
Kayla Trawick (15 assists, seven digs, three services aces, two blocks) and
Kyla Knox (21 assists, nine digs, five kills) stepped in to the role while
Bailey Jones led all Lady Bears with 15 digs across the two matches.
In the loss to Central State (23-25, 17-25, 21-25), Copeland had 19 kills with two of them coming consecutively late in the opening set to tie the score at 22. But DesiRaye Blakely had two kills and was part of a combo block that finished off the Lady Bears in the first. The Lady Bears led by as many as four points midway through the second set and was ahead 15-14 before the Lady Marauders reeled off seven straight points to take control of the match. In the final set, the Lady Bears trailed by as many as seven points before making a late run. An
Aida Edwards block and service ace by Jones bookended a five-point run to cut the deficit to 21-19. Another ace by
Cydney Jolivette kept the margin close at 23-21 before CSU (3-6, 3-2) closed out the match.
The Lady Bears rebounded in a big way against Lane (25-23, 25-17, 26-24Â ), hitting .366 as a team to fight back a strong effort from the Lady Dragons (2-13, 1-5). The opening set was tied at 21 before Copeland (10 kills) and Edwards had back-to-back finishes to give Miles the lead for good. In the second set, consecutive kills by Knox and another by
Kori Brown began a five-point run and put the Lady Bears up 10-6. It was still a four-point margin before Brown had three straight kills to help push the set out of reach. Miles looked as if it were going to roll to victory in the final set but the Lady Dragons denied five consecutive match point attempts by the Lady Bears to tie the game at 24. But a kill by Copeland and an error byb Lane sent the Lady Bears to the win.
Miles has two more matches at the CSU Cluster on Saturday, facing LeMoyne-Owen at 8 a.m. followed by Kentucky State at 1 p.m.
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