By Gordie Frierson

Columbia, SC - CIU Volleyball hosted city rival, Columbia College Tuesday night in an Appalachian Athletic Conference contest. The match would be the Rams second against the Koalas this year. In the first meeting, CIU would win 3-0 and tonight would be more of the same as the Rams dominated the match from the beginning of the first set. 

CIU would win the set one 25 - 16 behind the attacking of De'Asija Harden. Harden would lead the Rams in kills for the match recording 18. The majority of Harden's kills came off of the assists of sophomore Mackenzie Sanchez who carried her strong play from the previous week into Tuesday's match. Sanchez led Rams in assists with 29 and digs with 10. 

The second set would give the Rams even more confidence as they quickly took care of business winning 25-13. Carla Cauchi again had an all-around performance for CIU recording 8 digs, 3 aces and a kill for the evening. Lily Tang would also have a well-rounded night contributing both offensively and defensively. Tang posted a team-high 4 aces, 3 kills, and a block against the Koalas.

Columbia College took the lead to start the third set, but the surging Rams did not stay behind for long and won the final set of the evening by double digits, 25-14. Megan Lung had another terrific outing recording 10 kills and 7 digs in the contest. Lung is now third in the AAC in kills per set with 3.4 sitting behind her teammate De'Asija Harden who is leading the conference with 3.9 kills per set. 

What Coach Haver is saying

"It's always fun to play a crosstown team. We've started a bit of a rivalry. We were determined to get back in the win column after facing some adversity over the last week on the road. I'm pleased tonight with our first conference home game of the season. A 3-0 sweep is the tone we'd like to set for home conference play."

Up Next 
The Rams have a quick turnaround as they face Morris College at home tomorrow at 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM.