PINE BLUFF, Ark. | The Grambling State University volleyball team, playing in just its second five-set match during Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play, ran its winning streak to five straight after a thrilling 3-2 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in front of a hostile crowd on Thursday night at the H.O. Clemmons Arena.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (7-17 overall, 5-5 SWAC), which saw its Senior Night spoiled, used a 6-2 run to pull away late to claim the opening set, 25-21. GSU used a furious 8-1 run in the second, tying the match at 1, 25-17. The Lady Tigers (12-8, 9-1) started strong in the third set and held off a late charge to claim a 25-21 win. UAPB rallied in the fourth, forcing a final set, 26-24. In the final set, Grambling State raced out to a 9-5 lead and didn't look back in a 15-7 win, sealing the match.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
First Set 

• Arkansas-Pine Bluff opened the game on a 5-1 run
• Back came Grambling State, on the heels of a 9-2 run, grabbing a 10-7 advantage after a service ace by Jayden James
• The Golden Lions tied the set at 10 after a Laila Fortson service ace
• UAPB pushed the advantage to 14-11 after an attacking error by Zyonn Smith
• A kill by Ana Calderon tied the set at 14
• With the score tied at 19, back-to-back attacking errors gave Arkansas-Pine Bluff a 21-19 lead
• Grambling State called a timeout after an error by James as UAPB led 23-20
• The Lady Tigers could not recover in dropping a 25-20 decision

Second Set 

• Grambling State jumped out to a 7-3 advantage 
• UAPB closed the gap to 7-6, but the Lady Tigers got kills by James and Kai Williams as the Golden Lions called a timeout trailing, 10-6
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff continued to play from behind, trimming the deficit to 15-11 before a kill by Smith gave GSU the 16-11 advantage
• GSU forced a timeout as Haley Gomez recorded a kill with the Lady Tigers firmly ahead, 20-12
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff tried to rally, closing the gap to 24-17, but a kill by James sealed the set, 25-17

Third Set 

• The Tigers began the set on a 4-0 run
• The Golden Lions cut the deficit to 8-7 after an attacking error by James
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff remained closed the margin to 14-13 off a kill by Reagin Williams, but back-to-back kills by Calderon sparked four straight points to give GSU an 18-13 lead
• UAPB stormed back and forced a GSU timeout, trailing 19-18
• Grambling State responded with kills by James and Williams, extending the margin to 22-18 and forcing a UAPB timeout
• The Lady Tigers held off a late charge by the Golden Lions to claim the set, 25-21

Fourth Set

• An attacking error and a kill by Maggie Plush gave GSU an early 6-4 lead
• UAPB rallied, tying the set at 7 
• Kills by Gomez and Calderon, along with a service ace, gave the Lady Tigers an 11-8 advantage
• GSU continued to push the lead, taking advantage of three straight errors to extend the margin to 14-9
• Back came Arkansas-Pine Bluff as the Golden Lions kept the set close before taking an 18-17 advantage
• With the score tied at 20, UAPB got a service by Fortson to grab a 22-20 lead
• However, GSU rallied and tied the set at 24 off a kill by James
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff took the final two points, winning 26-24

Fifth Set

• Grambling State jumped out to an 8-5 and extended the margin to 11-6
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff never recovered as GSU got kills by James, Williams and took advantage of errors to win the set, 15-7

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Grambling State finished with 56 kills in 183 total attacks, with 30 errors
• The Lady Tigers registered 74 digs, 48 assists, eight block assists, five block solos and five service aces
• Jayden James recorded a double-double of 20 kills and 14 digs
• Kai Williams tallied 14 kills, hitting .333, with seven digs
• Ana Calderon and Hillary English dished out 21 assists apiece
• Nyah Ellis led the defense with 22 digs
• Haley Gomez added five kills, three block solos and three digs
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff finished with 43 kills in 186 total attacks, with 31 errors
• The Golden Lions recorded 70 digs, 37 assists, 10 block assists, seven service aces and six block solos
• Fernanda Spengler led the offense with 15 kills
• Nikole Akamine and Elyssa Kennedy registered 19 and 15 assists, respectively
• Zykia Jones paced the defense with 14 digs

UP NEXT 
Grambling State returns to action in the SWAC Round-up starting on Sunday hosted by Prairie View A&M University. The Lady Tigers will meet Alabama State at 1 p.m. and Jackson State at 5 p.m. during Day 1 action and conclude play on Monday with a 9 a.m. match against Bethune-Cookman.

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