Freshman pin-hitter Jamari Griffin showed exactly why Fort Valley State was the preseason favorite to win its third consecutive SIAC title.
Griffin led all players with a season-high 19 kills on a .586 attack percentage as Fort Valley State defeated Benedict 27-29, 25-20, 25-22, 25-16 in its conference opener Wednesday.
Griffin opened the conference road match with eight combined kills through the first two games and did not commit an attack error until the third game. The pin-hitter also had a game-high six kills in the fourth game to help the Wildcats secure the victory.
This was the second time this season Griffin finished with double-digit kills. Griffin entered conference play after being held to less than five kills in six of the team’s last seven matches.
Setter Logan Rogers guided the Fort Valley State offense to out-hit Benedict .380 to .186. The Wildcats hit more than .300 in all four matches, including a match-best .500 attack percentage in the third game.
Along with running the offense, Rogers contributed nine kills on a .727 attack percentage.
Middle attacker Muhammad Mbaye also had nine and hit .429, while outside attacker Isaiah Fedd added 16 kills.
Benedict entered this match in first place in the SIAC after sweeping a two-match road series against Edward Waters to open conference play.
Middle attacker Hakan Godoy in the loss finished with a team-high 10 kills and hit .389. In addition, Godoy had the game-winning block in overtime to secure the Tigers’ opening-game win.
Fort Valley State with this victory extends its conference winning streak to 25 matches. The two-time defending SIAC champions have not lost a SIAC match since 2023.