COLUMBIA, S.C. – CIU Volleyball is emerging as a force to be reckoned with early in the 2020 season, and it couldn't have been more evident then it was Tuesday night. CIU took on the Knights of St. Andrew's University in the Moore Fitness Center in a Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup. CIU entered the evening 2-1 while the Knights came in 1-0. The Rams split their season series with the Knights in 2019, but Tuesday evening would be all CIU as the Rams glided to a 3-0 victory.
How It Happened:
Set One: Freshman
Shaniece Steer once again helped the Rams set a precedent for the match picking up an early to kill to give CIU a 7-4 advantage. CIU extended the lead to 20-12 later in the set after two blocks in three plays by
Camri Goodwin and
Megan Lung. SAU would mount a comeback, but CIU fought them off, sealing the set with kills from Lung and Steer, 25-21.
Set Two: Kamelia De Jesus and setter
Mackenzie Sanchez played vital roles in the success of CIU in set two. The Rams recorded 17 kills in the set with 12 of those kills assisted by Sanchez, while De Jesus was stalwart for CIU with 8 digs as the libero. CIU led almost the entire set wining, 25-17.
Set Three: The third set of the contest proved just how outmatched the Knights were as the Rams garnered a 17-8 lead. Freshmen
Novi Lock and
Alana Sanjurjo helped the Rams in serve receive combining for 10 receptions. The Knights put up a fight, but the Rams pulled out the set 25-23.
Game Notes:
- Freshman Shaniece Steer had 18 kills on only 27 attempts and 3 errors, hitting a whopping .556.
- Sophomore Megan Lung had 18 kills while junior setter Mackenzie Sanchez had a season-high in assists with 36.
- The Rams had 10 blocks as a team with Lung assisting on 3 and Camri Goodwin assisting on 2.
- Kamelia De Jesus was superb defensively for the Rams as she notched 27 digs on the night.
- With the win, the Rams jump out to the best start in program history at 3-1.
What Coach Haver is saying:
"Proud of the effort of these young women tonight. Meg Lung and
Shaniece Steer with 18 kills each tonight. 57 digs from our back row, with some very long rallies against a very scrappy team. We've been working on improving our defense at the net and our blockers did a much better job for us tonight. Looking forward to getting back in the gym tomorrow to prepare for the weekend."
Up Next:
CIU will travel to Dayton, Tennessee, to battle Bryan college on Friday, October 2nd.