POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Day two of the NCCAA Division I Volleyball National Championship went about as well CIU volleyball could have hoped for as the Rams went 2-0, sweeping both of their opponents in straight sets. CIU took on the No. 7 seeded host school College of the Ozarks (Mo.) in match one, and then No. 2 seeded Campbellsville (Ky.) in match two. The Rams looked as dominant as they have all season as they picked up two wins to go undefeated in pool play to move to 32-9 on the season. CIU advances to the national championship semifinal on Saturday.
MATCH ONE: 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-18): The Bobcats were not willing to go down without a fight and battled in all three sets, but the Rams were too much for COFC. Cintia Lorena had her best match of the tournament thus far with 14 kills and a .364 hitting percentage. The Rams' most impactful player was Kamelia De Jesus, who notched 33 assists, 17 digs, and four services aces. Kira Rymer was on the receiving end of several of those De Jesus assists as Rymer picked up 12 kills and a team-high .476 hitting percentage. CIU's hitting percentage as a team stood out as they hit .304 compared to a .128 hitting percentage from the Bobcats.
MATCH TWO: 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-20): In the second match of the day, the Rams again ran through the competition, this time against the higher-seeded Campbellsville Tigers. Kira Rymer was terrific once again for CIU as the sophomore tallied 15 kills and an eye-opening .650 hitting percentage. Alana Sanjurjo was also a critical piece of the offensive attack as she totaled 14 kills. Defensively the Rams had three players with double-digit digs as Kamelia De Jesus picked up 14 digs while libero Fabianne Besos and defensive specialist Carla Cauchi each recorded 15 digs. De Jesus completed yet another double-double as she added 34 assists from the setter position.
What Coach Amber Haver is saying: "Proud of the effort today. We played inspired and everyone contributed. We set out to go undefeated in pool play and not drop any sets today. These young ladies worked hard to meet our goals. Looking forward to tomorrow."
Up next:
The Rams will play in the NCCAA National Championship semifinal at 12:30 PM (CST) on Saturday, Dec. 3, against No. 5 Judson University (Ill.).