Kia Thomas led three Lady Panthers with double-digit kills, but Albany State ended Clark Atlanta's six-game winning streak in winning a 3-2 thriller at L.S. Epps Gymnasium Thursday.

Clark Atlanta (9-8, 9-4 SIAC) remains in first place in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division as they have more conference and divisional wins than Albany State (8-13, 8-4 SIAC).  The two teams have split their two regular season matchups.

The Golden Rams jumped out early in the first set, running off to a 5-1 lead.  An 8-3 CAU run gave the Lady Panthers their first lead in the set, which they extended to four points midway through the set.  The two teams were tied at 22 after Shaya Shally-Jensen's kill.  But ASU scored the next three points to win the first set.

The second set started out like the first, with ASU grabbing a quick early lead.  The Lady Panthers kept it close, tying the set at 8-8 on Kia Thomas's kill.  The Lady Panthers scored six of the next eight points to take a lead they never relinquished in winning the set 25-19.

The battle continued in the third set as both teams kept it close most of the way.  But with the set tied 18-all, Albany State went on a 5-0 run to take the lead for good, winning the set 25-20.

Needing a win to keep the match going, CAU was down 5-0 in the fourth set.  They were down by as many as six points four times during the set before making a crowd-pleasing late run. Ashley Elmore's kill and service ace capped a 7-0 run that gave CAU a 21-20 lead in the set.   They scored the final three points of the set to pull out to a 26-24 win in the set to tie the match at 2-2.

CAU led early in the deciding set, but Albany State grabbed the lead at 5-4 and stayed in front for good, winning the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.

Thomas finished with 15 kills, two aces, and seven digs to lead the Lady Panthers.  Shally-Jensen had 12 kills, four blocks, nine digs and two assists, while Elmore finished with 11 kills and two kills.  Sierra Nelson had 46 assists, while Alexis Gaines had 15 digs and four assists.  Mekhayla Gibson had four blocks while Brittany Warren-Dancy had three blocks.

Clark Atlanta is back on the court Monday when they host Paine College at 6 p.m. in L.S. Epps Gymnasium.  Admission is free.