Ashley Elmore had 15 kills and Kia Thomas added 12 as the Clark Atlanta University Lady Panthers volleyball team closed out the regular season with a 3-0 win over Benedict College Friday at L.S. Epps Gymnasium.

On Senior Night when Sierra Nelson, Shaya Shally-Jensen, Alexis Gaines, and Brittany Warren-Dancy were honored during their final home games, Clark Atlanta (11-9, 10-5 SIAC) secured a second-place finish in the SIAC East Division standings, one game behind Albany State who the Lady Panthers fell to last week.

CAU and Benedict kept it close through the midpoint of the first set.  But the Lady Panthers made a 8-0 run, started by a Thomas kill and capped by one from Elmore, to erase a 12-11 deficit and take a 18012 lead.  The Lady Panthers maintained that lead in winning the set 25-19.

The second set went much the same way as the Lady Panthers took control of the set late with a 4-0 run that gave them a 21-18 lead that they maintained for a 25-20 second-set victory.

Benedict fought back in the third set, taking an early six-point lead and holding that lead til late in the set. But the Lady Panthers tied the set at 24-24 after three straight points.  A Thomas kill started a three-point CAU barrage that gave the Lady Panthers the set and the win.

Elmore had two aces in addition to her 15 kills, while Thomas finished with two blocks to go with her 12 kills. Nelson finished with 35 assists, a block, and two aces, while Shaya Shally-Jensen had six digs, six kills and a block.  Gaines finished with seven digs, while Taylor Prude had six.

The Lady Panthers now turn their focus to the SIAC Volleyball Tournament which opens Monday, Nov. 5 in Birmingham, Ala.  Seeded second from the East, the Lady Panthers take on Tuskegee, the third seed from the West, at 1 p.m. (CST) on Monday.  The Lady Panthers defeated Tuskegee 3-1 on Oct. 16, but fell to them 3-0 during the SIAC Crossover on Sept. 28^th.