COLUMBIA, SC - CIU women's volleyball team played their final two matches of the regular season Saturday afternoon. The Rams would play their last regular season Appalachian Athletic Conference match against the conference-leading Reinhardt Eagles at 1 PM. The Eagles entered the contest 20-0 in the AAC. CIU battled hard but would come up short against Reinhardt, 3 sets to 0. The Rams will now have to look ahead to the AAC Tournament in Kingsport, TN.

The Rams second match came against the Bruins of Piedmont International University at 5 PM. CIU would play the Bruins close but lose 3 sets to 2. 

Match One: RU 3 CIU 0

How It Happened

Megan Lung would start the set with a kill giving the Rams the first lead of the game. However, the Eagles would quickly gain control of the set and jump ahead by double digits. A kill by De'Asija Harden would get the Rams back in the contest 18-10. A ball-handling error by the Eagles and more kills by Lung and Harden and the Rams would only trail 19-14. Later, a kill from Aniya Marshall would keep the Rams in striking distance 22-17 as the Eagles threatened to pull away. Set one would end in the hands of Reinhardt, however, 25-18.

The Rams would once again start with the lead in the second set going up 7-4. Reinhardt would again fight back, and the Rams found themselves in a 9-9 tie. The Eagles would begin to pull away until a Sofia Larsson kill settled the Rams,17-13. CIU would be unable to make up ground on the Eagles and would lose set two 25-15.

CIU would jump out to a 5-1 lead over the Eagles to start the third set. Kills from Lily Tang and Harden and an ace from Mackenzie Sanchez would help the Rams keep their advantage. Once again, the Eagles would not stay behind and come back to tie the game at 12. This time, however, the Rams would not allow the Eagles to gain a large advantage trailing only 21-18. After a Lung kill the Rams would still only trail 23-20, but Reinhardt would steal the win 25-21.

Game Notes

• Megan Lung and De'Asija Harden combined for 21 kills.
• Andrea Salas had a match-high 26 digs to go along with 2 assists and 1 ace.
• Aniya Marshall was once again a leader on the defensive end with 2 blocks. 
• The Rams finished the season 9-12 in conference play, a 4 win improvement from 2018.

Match 2: PIU 3 CIU 2

The Ram's second matchup of the day would come against NCCAA foe Piedmont International University. The Rams would have their most dominant set win of the year in the first set of the match, 25-5. Unfortunately for CIU, the first set would not be indicative of the final outcome. The Rams would win set two but then would drop three sets in a row, including a heart-breaking 15-13 loss in the fifth set.

CIU would put up big numbers in the match. Megan Lung would have 22 kills while De'Asija Harden would be close behind with 16. Mackenzie Sanchez would have a hugely impactful match recording 44 assists and 25 digs. Andrea Salas and Gabriela Vega came up big on defense for the Rams, Salas picked up 30 digs while Vega had 5 blocks on the evening. 

Up Next

Stay tuned to CIURAMS.com for more information the Rams postseason match dates and times.