By Gordie Frierson

Barbourville, KY - The Rams competed in their third straight AAC contest on the road Friday night as they played their first match of a weekend road trip to Kentucky. The Rams entered the match 1-1 in the AAC while the Union Bulldogs came in with a 2-0 record in the conference. 

Match:  Union 3 CIU 2

Set 1
The Rams would lead from the outset of the first set on the night. Kills from Lily Tang would see the Rams up 7-4 before the Bulldogs would come back to take an 11-10 lead. A block by Tang and Aniya Marshall would help the Rams keep the set close as the Bulldogs would hold a small advantage 14-12. The Bulldogs seemingly took control of the set creating a 5-point difference between themselves and CIU. However, led by freshman Megan Lung, the Rams would storm back to tie the set at 24. Despite the late push, the game would end in a 27 -25 Bulldog victory.


Set 2 
The Rams got on the board first in the second set and De'Asija Harden would put the Rams up 3 - 0 after a powerful kill off a Mackenzie Sanchez set up. Carla Cauchi would extend the Rams lead after an ace, 7 - 2. Another set up from Sanchez and another kill from Harden would continue the Rams dominance, and they would lead 11-4. Errors by the Bulldogs would help the Rams, and an ace by Dzana Cisic would bring the score to 17 - 6. A kill by Lily Tang brought CIU closer to the win putting the rams up 22-11. Union would answer however, scoring 5 straight and forcing a Rams timeout. After the timeout, the Rams would regroup and win the set 25-18.

Set 3
CIU and Union would exchange kills to start the set, but the Bulldogs would quickly jump in front 4-1. The Bulldogs would hold the lead throughout the beginning of the game, but the Rams would cut the lead to 12-10 after errors by Union and a Gabriela Vega kill. Union would extend the advantage, but a kill from Megan Lung would keep the Rams in the game, 19 -14. The Rams would fight hard, but a Union block off of a Harden attack would end the set with the Bulldogs on top, 25 - 17

Set 4 
Union would start the set edging the Rams, 6-2. A Sanchez and Sofia Larsson block would keep the Rams in the game, 10-6. Union would go up by 8-points, but the Rams would bring the lead back down to just 5, 16-11. The Bulldogs would keep the upper hand, but the Rams would trail only 19-16 after a Lung kill. The Rams would keep pace trailing 23-20 after a service error by Union. However, CIU would be unable to complete the comeback, and the Bulldogs would win 25-20.

By The Numbers

• Freshman Carla Cauchi would play a complete match posting 3 aces, 18 digs, and a block.
• Lily Tang continued her solid start to the season with 8 digs, 5 assists, and 7 kills.
• Mackenzie Sanchez would keep up her consistent play with 32 assists, 2 aces and 13 digs on the evening. 

Up Next

CIU will continue their weekend road trip tomorrow with games against Piedmont International at 1 PM and Kentucky Christian at 3 PM.