ITTA BENA, Miss. | The Grambling State University volleyball team fought hard for four sets, but it was not enough to get past Southern as the Lady Tigers fell, 3-1, during the quarterfinals of the 2018 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Volleyball Tournament on Friday night at R.W. Harrison HPER Complex on the campus of Mississippi Valley State University.
 
Grambling State dropped the opening set, 25-18, but bounced back with a second-set 27-25 win to tie the match at 1. Southern, which will meet the winner of the Alabama State/Prairie View A&M match in Saturday's semifinals, won the third set, 25-23, and claimed the match with a 25-23 fourth-set victory. The Lady Tigers, who went 4-9 in four-set matches during the season, concluded the season with an 11-24 overall record.
 
Chasity Nicks led the way offensively with 13 kills, while Kevreion Ward added 11 kills and 10 digs. L'Muriell Thrower dished out 20 assists and 12 digs for the double-double. Sheila Borders tallied 14 assists. Defensively, Talicia Lang led the charge with 14 digs, while Erineka Mollere added 12.
 
Paige Hall finished with 17 kills, while Shelby Jolly registered 14 to pace Southern (14-16). Vaterra Calais recorded a team-high 23 assists and Princess Stark added 21. Bailey Jefferson led the way defensively with a match-high 27 digs, while Sameera Mohamed and Brianna Hawkins chipped in with 13 and 12 digs, respectively.
 
Inside the Numbers
> Grambling State finished with 42 kills, 30 errors and 158 total attacks (.076 hitting percentage)
> Southern registered a .106 hitting percentage (56 kills, 38 errors, 170 total attacks)
> The Lady Tigers recorded 66 digs, 41 assists, 16.0 total team blocks and six service aces
> The Lady Jaguars tallied 81 digs, 52 assists, 11.0 total team blocks and seven service aces
 
Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /gramblingstateathletics (Facebook), @gramblingathletics01 (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.