COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU volleyball hosted a rare midseason doubleheader on Tuesday night as the Rams welcomed both Paine College (Ga.) and Brenau University (Ga.) to the Moore Fitness Center. The Rams would take on Paine (2-10) first, easily trouncing the Lions in three sets. An Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest followed the first match as CIU took down a feisty Brenau (11-10, 6-6 AAC) team, 3 sets to 1. With the victories, CIU ties the most wins in a season in program history as the Rams move to 21-6 overall and 12-1 in the AAC. However, perhaps most notably fourth-year head coach Amber Haver recorded her 75th win all-time as the head coach of the Rams. Haver started the women's volleyball program back in 2018.
MATCH ONE (25-13, 25-15, 25-10): CIU's depth was tested as a plethora of players got opportunities on the floor against the Lions. Gabriela Vega was superb for CIU with a .638 hitting percentage leading the Rams with 11 kills and two aces. The Rams attack was rounded out by Abbey Kleist, Jadaeya Morrell, and Emma Munday, who each had four kills. Defensively CIU received a boost from Camri Goodwin, who recorded three blocks. Defensive specialist Dzana Cisic was solid for CIU, with seven digs and three aces. The Rams were led in assists by Lexabel Rojas and Kamelia De Jesus, who each had 11.
MATCH TWO (25-15, 25-12, 20-25, 25-20): It looked as though the Rams were going to run away with the sweep after two dominant sets. However, Brenau had other ideas as they seized the third set. The Rams would then find themselves in a battle in set four with the game tied at 17-17, but several errors from the Golden Tigers helped the Rams down the stretch as CIU outscored Brenau 8-3 for the match win. Kira Rymer led the way for CIU with 12 kills and a .300 hitting percentage. Setter Kamelia De Jesus has won back-to-back AAC Setter of the Week awards, and she showed why Tuesday night. The sophomore picked up her 8th double-double of the year with 37 assists and 18 digs. Gabriela Vega stood out defensively for CIU with six total blocks, while Karla Rodriquez had 15 digs as the Ram's libero. CIU had ten aces as a team, three of which came from Alana Sanjurjo, who also had 11 kills.
What Coach Amber Haver is saying: "Was good to get two wins under our belt in front of our home crowd. Brenau is a solid team with one of the best liberos in the conference. We are looking forward to a couple of crucial matches coming up this weekend."
Up Next: The Rams will hit the road this weekend for a Friday (Oct. 15) night contest at Tennessee Wesleyan University and a Saturday (Oct. 16). matchup with Bryan College (Tenn.).
