Albany State has another busy but successful weekend

ALBANY —This past weekend, Albany State athletics wanted to show they’re contenders. Not just on the field, but as a hosting site and city as well.

The ASU volleyball team finished 5-2 in the SIAC Crossover Tournament that took place from Thursday to Saturday. The women’s cross country team finished first in the home meet that Saturday morning and the football team capped the weekend off with a 30-24 win over Miles in front of a sizeable crowd despite an hour weather delay.

While the weekend was a long one for ASU faculty and staff, athletics director Sherie Gordon said it was worth it.

“We’re exhausted, but we’re happy,” she said.

Saturday night alumni spanning various classes could be seen in Lovett Hall meeting and greeting while cheering the Rams to victory. Albany State president Marion Fredrick said that’s what the week was all about.

“First it’s great that the SIAC is considering us for hosting these events, and the community is supporting these by giving resources as well,” she said. “We want to continue creating that environment and continue bringing people to campus and enjoy the campus. We think these kind of events are bringing our community together.”

It’s not the first time Albany State has played host to multiple sporting events in the same weekend. This past spring the Rams baseball and softball teams were at home for the SIAC championship tournament and both were named champions. Gordon said moving forward, hopefully there will be more opportunities to host.

The excitement is felt by coaches alike as conference tournament time for fall sports is on the horizon.

“The women had a great meet, of course they won the meet,” cross country coach Kenneth Taylor said. “We had some significant improvements…the men, we’re still very injured. We’re just limping through meets hoping to get them healthy in a couple weeks in time for the conference meet.”

ASU’s volleyball team recorded their first win of this season this past weekend en route to that 5-2 finish. Head coach Verniece Graham said in order to return to championship form they had to prove they could compete with the top teams in the conference. She said she believes her Rams team showed they can.

“I think we have to just cut down on our mistakes and we can hang with those teams,” she said. “We actually went four sets with Kentucky State, but we just had too many mistakes against that caliber a team.”

The volleyball team remains at home and will take on Clark-Atlanta this Thursday at 6 p.m.