Albany State volleyball players receive all-conference honors  Edythe Y. Bradley Two Albany State University Lady Rams have been named to 2010 SIAC Volleyball All-Conference teams. Sabrina Garcia and Priscila Sena received honors during the annual awards ceremony, held Wednesday night after a day of action-packed volleyball play. The teams were selected by the SIAC Volleyball Coaches Association. Named to the All-SIAC First Team, Garcia led the Lady Rams with 271 kills in 27 matches for the Lady Rams. The senior outside hitter from San Antonio, Texas also recorded 87 digs, 25 total blocks and five service aces. Sena, a senior setter from Sao Paulo, Brazil, received second team honors. Sena led the team with 773 assists and was third on the Lady Rams’ defense with 153 digs. She also recorded 61 kills and 31 service aces for the Lady Rams. The 2010 first team is led by Benedict College senior Melinda Bastian, a three-time all-conference first team selection. She was named the 201 Most Valuable Player, and Offensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive season after recording 343 kills on the season. Kentucky State University’s Brittany Stewart was named Setter of the Year after leading the SIAC with 990 assists, and Mercedes Parker was also a first-team selection. Other first-team all-conference selections include Krysta McGowan of Clark Atlanta University, Deisha Rivers of Claflin University and Fernisha McMillan of Paine College. The second team is led by Victoria Claytor of Paine College, who was named Defensive Player of the Year. In addition to Sena, other second team selections were Lauren Calvin of Claflin, Jamila McKinnis and Anjelica Nixon of Stillman College, and DeNae Shelton and Nikki Douglas of Kentucky State. Coaches Vernell Keitt-Capers of Claflin and Gwendolyn Rouse of Benedict were named Co-Coaches of the Year. Keitt-Capers led Claflin to a 24-6 overall record (14-2 SIAC) and the SIAC East Division regular season title. Rouse led Benedict to a 14-5 overall record (13-3 in the SIAC) and a second place finish in the SIAC East Division.

Albany State basketball teams to compete in Tip-Off Challenge  - Edythe Y. Bradley The Albany State University Lady Rams and Golden Rams will tip off their 2010 seasons in competition at the Tip-Off Challenge, hosted by Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. Eight men and women’s games, involving teams from the SIAC and Sunshine State conferences, will be played during the two-day tournament, which starts Friday at FIT’s Clemente Center. Other participating teams include the SIAC’s Fort Valley State University, and Rollins College and the University of Tampa of the SSC The Lady Rams, under head coach Robert Skinner, will take on the FIT Lady Panthers on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in game two of the event. The Golden Rams, under head coach Christopher Cameron, and the Florida Tech Panthers will meet for the first time in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. Friday action starts at 12 p.m. with the Rollins Tars against the Fort Valley State Lady Wildcats, and game three will feature the Fort Valley State Wildcats against the Tampa Spartans at 5 p.m. The Albany State women will play in Saturday’s opening game against Rollins at 12 p.m., and the FIT women and Fort Valley State will play at 2:30 p.m. The Golden Rams and Tampa will go head-to-head at 5 p.m., and the Florida Tech men will face Fort Valley State at 7:30 p.m. in the tournament finale. General admission for the Tip-Off Challenge is $7 and $5 for senior citizens and non-FIT students. Fans who can’t attend the tournament have the opportunity to view free live video, audio and stats feeds by clicking on the Game Central link at www.floridatechsports.com or for direct access, log onto www.floridatechsports.com/live. The Lady Rams will make their home debut against the Georgia Southwestern State University Hurricanes Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at ASU’s HPER Gymnasium. The Clayton State game, set for Nov. 23 at 5:30 p.m., is the second of the Lady Rams’ seven-game home series at ASU’s HPER Gymnasium arena. The Golden Rams, who lost 76-105 to Florida A&M University in exhibition play on Nov. 6, will travel to Valdosta, Ga. to take on the Valdosta State University Blazers on Nov. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Both teams will tipoff SIAC action at home against the Miles College Golden Bears on Nov. 27. 2010 SIAC Volleyball Tournament Friday, Nov. 12 SIAC20 - 10 a.m., Benedict v. Albany State SIAC21 - 12 p.m., Winner of SIAC20 v. Claflin SIAC22 – 3 p.m., Winner of SIAC21 v. Kentucky State (Championship Game) SIAC23 – 5 p.m., If Kentucky State losses SIAC22…

Albany State Lady Rams claim three victories during SIAC tournament play  Edythe Y. Bradley Albany State University’s Sabrina Garcia recorded 33 kills to lead the Lady Rams in three victories in day two of the 2010 SIAC Volleyball Tournament, held this week at Kentucky State University. The Lady Rams cruised to a 3-0 victories over the Tuskegee University Tigerettes and Fort Valley State University Lady Wildcats. The Lady Rams beat Tuskegee 25-8, 25-20 and 25-16, and defeated Fort Valley State University 25-15, 25-22 and 25-18. Winning 3-1 over Clark Atlanta University, the Lady Rams lost its first game to the Lady Panthers 19-25, but held on to defeat the No. 3 East Division team, 25-12, 25-14 and 25-23. Jillian Anderson recorded total 26 kills in the three matches, while Latrice Lewis added 23. Tiffany Butler had 16 total blocks. Jennifer Johnson led the Lady Rams in defense with 32 total digs, and Adrienne Morris added 26. Priscila Sena recorded 97 total assists, 19 digs and five service aces. After beating LeMoyne-Owen College 3-0 in their first match of the tournament on Wednesday, the Lady Rams dropped to the loser’s bracket after suffering a 2-3 loss to No. 2 East Benedict College. Anderson led the Lady Rams with 10 kills to defeat the LOC Lady Magicians 25-20, 25-18 and 25-15. Latrice Lewis had 27 kills against Benedict, but it was not enough as the Lady Rams lost the first game 15-25. The Lady Rams rallied back in game two to win 25-22 and won the third game 27-25. The Lady Tigers outlasted the Lady Rams 25-23 in game four and took the deciding game 16-14. The Lady Rams, who are competing for their 10th consecutive SIAC championship title, will face the Benedict on Friday at 10 a.m. in the opening match of the day. The winner of the Albany State vs. Benedict game will play No. 1 East Claflin University at 12 p.m. The winner will play Kentucky State University in the championship game at 3 p.m. If the Lady Rams win the 2010 SIAC title, they will compete in the NCAA Division II volleyball regional tournament, set for Nov. 18-21. Sites of regional tournaments will be announced later.