By Gordie Frierson

West Palm Beach, Florida (Keiser University Invitational). - The CIU Rams Women's Volleyball team opened the season Friday, playing fellow NAIA institutions Madonna University at 12 PM and St. Thomas University (FL.) at 4 PM.


Match One: CIU 0,  Madonna 3 (14 – 25, 18 -25, 20 – 25)

Set One

• The Rams scored the first point of the set behind a kill from freshman Megan Lung. The set would stay tight until the Crusaders opened a 4-point advantage behind a Betsy Cook kill, putting Madonna up 9 - 13. The Rams would get back within two points but wouldn't be able to keep the Crusaders from pulling away 14 - 25.

Set Two

• The Rams would again strike first and jump out to a 6 - 2 lead over the Crusaders. Madonna would not go away and fought back to take their first lead of the game at 11-10. The Crusaders would extend their lead by 8 but the Rams would regroup to get the score to a manageable 14 - 20. CIU could not quite claw their way back however and would drop the set 18 - 25.

Set Three

• Madonna set the pace with an early 0 - 3 lead but the Rams would come right back with four quick scores of their own behind errors by the Crusaders. After a back and forth affair kills by Megan Lung and Tyliahia Williams allowed the Rams to take a 4-point advantage 13 – 9. CIU couldn't quite hold the lead and Madonna jumped ahead 15 -16 behind a Jodie Kelly kill. The Rams would keep it close but the Crusaders pulled out the win 20 - 25.

Box Score Highlights

• Promising freshman Megan Lung led both teams with 15 kills in the match
• Sophomore leader Mackenzie Sanchez started the season right with 19 assists in the match
• Lily Tang led the Rams with 9 digs

What Coach Amber Haver is saying about the match:

"I am extremely pleased with our first performance in "Season Two".  Madonna is a very well established program.  Coach Abraham started the program there over 30 years ago and remains the winningest coach in the NAIA, along with his long list of other achievements while at their helm. I knew it would be a very tough match.  I felt we needed to start the season off with nothing handed to us.  With 10 freshmen on our roster and 7 sophomores, we need to gain experience quickly, so that we aren't learning the same lessons during conference play."

"Freshman, Meg Lung, stepped up for us on the Outside and delivered an outstanding performance in her college debut"  

"Sophomore, Mackenzie Sanchez, was a strong leader on the court today. We depended on her to remain steadfast the entire match and not succumb to the highs and lows, typically associated with young teams.  Overall, I am very proud of the effort and energy we exhibited today. We gave a very seasoned team a competitive match.  I couldn't be more excited to see what "Season Two" has in store."


Match Two: CIU 0, St. Thomas 3, (17 -25, 15 - 25, 22 - 25)

Set One

• The Rams got off to a slow start trailing the Bobcats of St Thomas 1 - 5. A kill by Tyliahia Williams off a Lily Tang assist cut the deficit to 5 - 8 and gave the Rams momentum. CIU would stay within 4 points of St. Thomas until the successful Bobcat attack allowed them to pull away down the stretch. Megan Lung and Williams would combine for 5 kills in the set but the Bobcats would win out 17 – 25.

Set Two

• A powerful kill by Lily Tang on an assist from McKenzie Sanchez got the Rams going to start the second set. Unfortunately, errors would plague CIU and allow the Bobcats to take an early lead. Sofia Larson and Tang would work hard to keep CIU in the game but the Rams would find themselves in a 5 - 15 deficit. Freshman Gabriela Vega would bring a spark to the Rams helping to cut the Bobcats lead down to just 10 – 15. Errors would again trouble the Rams allowing the Bobcats to build their lead back up and eventually win the set.

Set Three

• The Bobcats would jump out to a 1- 4 lead but the Rams would bounce back and take a 6 -5 advantage behind a Sofia Larsson kill. The Rams would lose the lead but regain it on back to back kills by Megan Lung putting CIU ahead 11 – 10. The Bobcats would pull back in front but the Rams would not go away getting it as close as 22 - 24  before St. Thomas blocked a Lily Tang attack giving the Bobcats the win.

Box Score Highlights

• The Rams led the match in Kills (26), Assists (25), and Digs (37).
• Freshman Sofia Larsson had 3 kills and hit .400 for the match
• Freshman Megan Lung led the team in both kills (11) and digs (8)

 
Up Next:
CIU will continue their participation in the Keiser University Invitational Saturday, August 17^th as they take on Keiser University at 2 PM, Dickinson State University (N.D) at 4 PM, and Florida Memorial at 6 PM.