FORT VALLEY, Ga. -- Spring Hill College women's volleyball opened its postseason run with a commanding 3-0 sweep of Benedict College in the quarterfinals of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Championship on Tuesday afternoon at HPE Arena.
The top-seeded Badgers (22-8, 19-0 SIAC) controlled the match from the outset, taking the opening set 25-18 before claiming the second 25-15. Spring Hill closed out the sweep with a 25-20 victory in the third set to advance to Wednesday's semifinals.
Claire Hayes and
Quinn Thurman paced the Badger offense with 11 kills apiece. Hayes hit .375 on 24 attacks, while Thurman added three service aces and a pair of assists.
Samaya Hennessy turned in an all-around performance with nine kills, five service aces and 10 digs.
Ashlyn Whiteside led the defensive effort with 21 digs while contributing four service aces.
Cassie Creech distributed 24 assists, while
Lily Floyd added 12 assists.
Bailey Bevolo chipped in six kills while hitting .625, and
Harper Howell, Thurman and Bevolo each recorded a block.
Spring Hill finished with a .269 hitting percentage, compared to .154 for Benedict, while holding advantages in kills (44-28), service aces (12-2), assists (43-25) and digs (45-38).
The Badgers now advance to Wednesday's SIAC semifinal round, where they will face fifth-seeded Tuskegee, after its triumph over Edward Waters. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. EST at HPE Arena.