The Clark Atlanta University Lady Panthers volleyball team had a successful first day of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Crossover Thursday, winning all three of their matches to start the three-day tournament in Albany, Ga.

The Lady Panthers (3-4, 3-0 SIAC) defeated Central State, LeMoyne-Owen, and Lane Thursday in picking up their first wins of the season, along with the first wins for first-year head coach Valerie Jones in leading the CAU program.

Against Central State, the Lady Panthers split the first two sets against the Lady Marauders but won the final two to win 3-1.   In the final and deciding set, the Lady Panthers withstood a late CSU run aft4er they closed to 23-21.  Kills by Kia Thomas and Brittany Warren-Dancy closed out the set and the match.   Thomas had 14 kills, three aces and five blocks for CAU, while Ashley Elmore also had 14 kills.  Shaya Shally-Jensen had 11 kills, four blocks and nine digs, while Alexis Gaines added 17 digs.  Sierra Nelson had 45 assists and three aces.

Next up for the Lady Panthers was LeMoyne-Owen.  Thomas led the CAU with 16 kills, an ace and a dig as the Lady Panthers knocked off LeMoyne-Owen 3-0.   Elmore had 15 kills, and Nelson had 40 assists, two aces, eight digs and a block.  Taylor Prude had seven kills and ten digs.

The Lady Panthers finished the first day of the Crossover with Lane.  CAU took the first two sets and won the fourth to defeat Lane 3-1.   Nelson had 47 assists, ten digs and an ace, while Elmore had 17 kills and two blocks.  Thomas had 11 kills and an ace and Shaya Shally-Jensen had ten kills.  TiAna Crider had seven digs and two assists, while Alexis Gaines had eight digs and four assists.  Brittany Warren-Dancy had two blocks.

The Crossover continues Friday as the Lady Panthers take on Tuskegee at 11 a.m., Spring Hill at 3 p.m., and Kentucky State at 5 p.m.  CAU closes out the Crossover Saturday at 9 a.m. against Miles.  

Follow the games live via live stats at https://stat.center/view.html#5ecyk92r.