Black Athletes in the Spotlight: HBCU Sports & Local Highlights
MOBILE, Ala.- Savannah State saw their 2025 season come to an end on Friday afternoon after their 3-2 loss to Fort Valley State in the semifinals of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament.
In a match played on the campus of Spring Hill in the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center, the Wildcats won the first set 25-18 but SSU went ahead 2-1 with a 25-21 victory in the second set and a 25-19 win in the third set. Fort Valley State rallied back with back-to-back wins in the fourth and fifth sets with wins of 25-18 and 15-9 to advance to the conference finals.
Savannah State entered the match as the third seed in the SIAC East while FVSU was the top seed in the East.
During the regular season, the teams split their matches with SSU winning 3-0 at home on October 23 and Fort Valley State claiming a 3-0 win at their place on November 11.
In the semifinal match, Savannah State had more blocks and digs while FVSU had more kills, aces and assists.
Leading 12-11, FVSU went on a 7-1 run to build a 19-12 lead and pulled away to earn the win in the first set.
Savannah State was able to bounce back to win the next two sets.
In the second set, the Wildcats started with a 8-1 spurt but a 5-0 rally by SSU made the score 8-6. With FVSU ahead 18-11, Savannah State responded with a 10-1 rally to go in front 21-19. FVSU scored a point to get to within 21-20 but SSU scored four out of the next five points.
With the scored knotted at 14 in the third set, Savannah State went on a 7-1 run to take a 21-15 lead and held on for the win.
The Wildcats led 14-13 in the fourth set and a 7-1 run put them ahead 21-14 and they kept SSU at bay to tie the match at 2-2.
The third set was tied at three until the Wildcats got some separation with a 9-1 rally to go in front 12-4. SSU answered with four straight points to get within 12-8 but could not get any closer.
Amiyah Walker finished with a double-double of 37 assists and 11 digs.
Saniaa Dickey had 17 digs and Mya McCall had 11. Nyalah Smith had 17 kills and Savannah Everett chipped in 14 and nine digs.
Mina Ezikpe ended up with six blocks. Dickey, Walker and Everett all had one ace.
Savannah State ends their season with a 16-11 overall and 11-8 conference record. The 16 victories set a new single season record that was set a year ago by the 2024 team.
It was also the final collegiate contest for SSU seniors Saniaa Dickey, Aaliyah Saunders and Savannah Everett.
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