After falling to conference foe Reinhardt University last night the Rams were back in action tonight against NCAA DII Fort Valley State University. The Rams and Wildcats were evenly matched and went point for point throughout both games. The Wildcats took the first game 3-1, while the Rams fought back in game 2 to win three straight sets, 3-2. The teams split the doubleheader and with the split the Rams move to 4-7 on the season.

Game One: FVSU 3 - CIU 1 (18-25, 22-25, 25-23, 24-26)

1st Set Highlights:

• The Rams would pick up the first point with a kill from CJ Hinson
• The two teams would go back and forth, but the Wildcats would take a slim 9-7 lead
• The Rams would keep the lead close after another kill from Hinson
• The Wildcats would jump out to a seven point advantage and hold onto that to win the first set

2nd Set Highlights:

• The Rams would once again get the first point, but this time Tyliahia Williams picked up the kill
• THe Wildcats would tie the set at two, but then the Rams would get two straight kills from Hinson and Maiah Leon
• The Wildcats and Rams would tie at 6, 7, and 8 before the Wildcats would grab the lead
• The Wildcats would race out to a 19-11 lead
• The Wildcats needed one more point to win the set, but the Rams didn't give up as they rattled off five straight points thanks to two Wildcat attacking errors and kills from Kaci Hargrove, Williams, and Hinson
• However, after a Wildcats timeout they would get the next point and win 25-22

3rd Set Highlights:

• For the third straight set the Rams scored first and it was Hinson again
• The Wildcats would grab the lead, but after two straight kills from De'Asija Harden and Hargrove the Rams tied it at five
• The two teams would continue to go back and forth, but the Rams would tie it once again at twenty-two
• The Rams would gain the lead after a Wildcat attacking error which would force a Wildcat timeout and the Rams would pick up another point after another attacking error
• With the Rams one point away from winning the set the Wildcats would pull within one again, but De'Asija Harden put the finishing touches on the set to give the Rams a 25-23 set victory

4th Set Highlights:

• Unlike the other three sets the Rams didn't get the first point, but the teams continued to battle
• After being tied at nine the Rams would score the next four points off a Mackenzie Sanchez service ace, an attacking error and kills from Rachael Branham and Andrea Salas
• The Wildcats would tie the set at sixteen, but kills from Hinson and Bruna Barrozo would give the Rams the lead again
• As the set drew to a close the teams were still tied. When the set was tied at twenty-four the Wildcats rattled off two points to win 26-24

Box Score Highlights: 

• The two teams were evenly matched as the Rams had 47 kills, while the Wildcats had 45...The Rams also led in assists and digs with 46 and 61...CJ Hinson led the Rams with 14 kills, but De'Asija Harden and Tyliahia Williams had 13 and 9...Mackenzie Sanchez had 38 assists...Rachael Branham chipped in with 13 kills...Nia Bell led the Wildcats with 11 kills.

Game Two: CIU 3 - FVSU 2 (15-25, 23-25, 29-27, 28-26, 15-11)

1st Set Highlights:

• The Wildcats jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Rams battled back and only trailed 7-5
• The Wildcats would hold onto the lead throughout the set and win it 25-15

2nd Half Highlights:

• After three straight errors by the Wildcats the Rams grabbed an early 3-0 lead, but the Wildcats would tie the set at five
• The two teams would go back and forth as they would tie ten times before the Wildcats would grab a late 24-22 lead
• The Rams would pull within one after a kill from Hinson, but a kill from the Wildcats India King gave the Wildcats the set two victory

3rd Set Highlights:

• Just like every other set since the first game started the teams couldn't gain much of an advantage
• The teams would battle, but tie at 23. The Rams would get the next point and be one away from the set win, but once again neither team could put the set away
• The Wildcats would then take a 27-26 advantage, but the Rams didn't go down without a fight as they got kills from Harden and Hinson to win the set 29-27

4th Set Highlights:

• The Rams would race out to an early 10-6 lead, but the Wildcats would come back to tie the game at eleven
• The teams went back and forth again, but the Rams would take a 24-21 advantage to force a Wildcat timeout
• The Wildcats would score the next four points to regain the lead, but the Rams didn't go down without a fight and after an error from the Wildcats and an ace from Barrozo the Rams forced a fifth set

5th Set Highlights:

• The Wildcats would jump out to an early lead in the fifth and decisive set, but the Rams would tie the set at seven
• A kill from Harden would give the Rams the lead and they would not give it up as the Rams would go on to win 15-11 and win the game

Box Score Highlights:

• The Rams led in kills again with 60, while the Wildcats had 58...Each team had seven aces and five blocks...The Rams led with 57 assists and 69 digs...HInson and Harden led the Rams with 26 and 25 kills...Tyliahia Williams had three of the Rams seven kills...Mackenzie Sanchez had an amazing game with 57 assists...Rachael Branham helped the team with 25 digs...Nia Bell led the Wildcats with 18 kills.

Coaches Comments:

• "I'm so proud of the girls," said Head Coach Amber Haver. "They came out and battled tonight. The gym was packed with Wildcat fans and the girls responded well to that crowd and adversity. The girls grew a lot from the games tonight and it was great to win a game against a NCAA DII school."

Up Next: The Rams will be back in action on Tuesday, September 11 at St. Andrews University. The game will start at 6:30 pm.