COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU women's volleyball picked up a monumental win on Saturday night as the Rams defeated Reinhardt (Ga.) 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-23). The win helps make the Rams' case for being a true Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) title contender as CIU moves to 19-6 overall and 11-1 in the conference. The win was significant for CIU as their only loss in the AAC came against Reinhardt (12-7, 9-3 AAC) back on Sept. 25. This is the Ram's second year in a row with a home victory versus Reinhardt. During the 2020 season, CIU defeated the Eagles in a historic win which ended a Reinhardt 66-match conference win streak. This year's win also has major implications for the conference tournament seeding as the Rams battle for the overall No. 1 seed in the conference.
Reinhardt came out of the gate swinging with a convincing set one win. However, CIU proved that a changing of the guard is occurring in the AAC as the Rams would upend the Eagles in the next three sets. Alana Sanjurjo had a big match against the Eagles last season and would not disappoint on Saturday. The sophomore was aggressively offensively for CIU with 17 kills while defended against the Eagle attack with nine digs. Freshman Cintia Lorena stepped up in the biggest game of her young career with 13 kills, a .308 hitting percentage, and three blocks assists. Kira Rymer was the third Ram with double-digit kills, recording ten. Kamelia De Jesus notched another double-double with a season-high 44 assists while also picking up 17 digs. After putting on a defensive showcase the night before, Ingrid Ferrari tallied five blocks in Saturday's contest while libero Karla Rodriguez added 20 digs to her season total.
What Coach Amber Haver is saying:
"Look, obviously, we have a rivalry going with Reinhardt. Coach Goodhind has built a solid program there. It's always going to be a fun game when we face them. We know they aren't going to give us anything easily. Proud of the girls for showing up today. Everyone did their part. Really appreciate the Ram fans showing support today as well!"
Up Next: CIU will host both Paine (Ga.) and Brenau (Ga.) on Tuesday, Oct. 12. CIU will play Paine at 4 PM and Brenua at 6:30 PM.
