ALBANY, G.A. --- On the first day of the SIAC East Crossover, held on the campus on Albany State University, Allen University volleyball split the two matches they played. Allen (2-3) fell to Central State in four sets (20-25, 25-20, 16-25, 23-25) to begin the day, then later in the evening the Yellow Jackets held off a rally from Kentucky State to win in five sets (28-26, 25-20, 23-25, 23-25, 15-10).

GAME ONE - Central State 3, Allen 1
Allen's attack was led by Sydney Ross as the senior right side hitter recorded eight kills in 16 swings, followed by Maliyah Spencer with seven kills, and Taylor Lawrence with six. Nine of the 17 Yellow Jackets who played in the match tallied at least one kill against CSU. Assisting their efforts was Zyara Harrison who totaled 15 assists. Harrison also added two services aces, alon with Spencer who also landed a pair of aces. Defensively, Kaiya Walker blocked two CSU attacks and Lawrence blocked one, as well. Myra Lopez was the lone Yellow Jacket with double-digit digs as the sophomore libero had 11. 

GAME TWO - Allen 3, Kentucky State 2
After taking a tightly-contested first set against the Thoroughbreds, Allen recorded 17 kills in the second set to take a 2-0 lead in the match. However, KSU proved to be a competitive foe as they forced a fifth set. But, the Yellow Jackets were able to put away the Thoroughbreds with a five-point win in the final set.

Allen saw both Dazzalon Larkins and Spencer record double-digit kills, with 17 and 14 kills, respectively. Larkins also led the Yellow Jackets with a .485 hitting percentage in the win. Nakia Reed and Harrison each played a critical role in the Yellow Jackets attack as they combined for 37 assists, including a season-high 22 from Reed. On the defensive side, Spencer tallied 13 digs and saw Reed join her in the double-digit club with 10 digs. 

The Yellow Jackets will stay the night and be back in action tomorrow for the second and final day of the SIAC East Crossover. Allen will play two matches Saturday, September 21, beginning with an 11:30 a.m. meeting with LeMoyne-Owen and followed by a 4:30 p.m. match against Lane.