BABSON PARK, Fla. – CIU volleyball continued their trek through the state of Florida on Wednesday as they went up against Webber International (WIU) and reigning USCAA national champion Florida National (FNU) in a tri-match. CIU would come away with two more victories added to their ever-growing win total as they only gave up one set loss on the day. The Rams quickly dispatched the Warriors of WIU (4-13), winning 3-0 in match one, and then made light work of FNU (8-7), defeating the Conquistadors 3-1 in match two. CIU is now 15-10 on the year as they work their way towards the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament at the end of March.

Match One: CIU 3 WIU 0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-23)

• The Rams were fairly dominant in all three sets, but the Warriors made it an interesting game one. WIU would lead 11-9 until the Rams seized their opportunity after numerous Warrior errors to take the first set 25-20. Set two was all Rams, but the Warriors were competitive in game three. CIU found themselves tied with WIU 22-22 until an error from the Warriors, a service ace from Camri Goodwin, and a kill from Abbey Kleist sealed the set and the match for CIU
• Gabriela Vega was phenomenal for the Rams in the first match with nine kills on only 13 attempts for a .615 hitting percentage. Vega also recorded two block assists.
• Camri Goodwin made her mark against the Warriors recording five kills and two service aces.
• The Rams had six aces as a team, with two coming from Fabianne Besosa and one coming from setter Kamelia De Jesus, who contributed 27 assists and nine digs.
• Emilia Niedzielska led the Rams in digs with 11, while Shaniece Steer and Abbey Kleist combined for 12 kills. Kleist was solid defensively as she had Rams only solo block.

Match Two: CIU 3 FNU 1 (25-16, 22-25, 26-24, 25-21)     

• CIU set a precedent early in match two, cruising their way to a 25-16 set one win. The Rams would take their only lump of the day in set two and then found themselves in a dog fight in set three. CIU trailed in the third set 15-10 but clawed their way back to a 23-23 tie after a Gabriela Vega and Kira Rymer block. Rymer picked up a kill, and then several errors from the Conquistadors would hand the Rams the 26-24 win. CIU trailed for a very short time in set four but stormed back to win the match with a 25-21 game four victory.
• Shaniece Steer led the Rams with 13 kills, while Kira Rymer recorded 11 kills. Steer also led CIU in digs tallying 24 while Rymer picked up five block assists.
• Abbey Kleist was solid across the board as the freshman had eight kills, 11 digs, three block assists, and a service ace.
• Camri Goodwin was impressive with three service aces and five block assists.
• Kamelia De Jesus had her most assists on the week has she totaled 29.
• CIU was stellar, defensively picking up a season-high 19 block assists.

What Coach Haver is saying:

"Glad to bring home two wins today. Against Webber, we hit with moderate efficiency but only notched three blocks. In set two of our second match of the day, fatigue seemed to set in, and we failed to play inspired. We hit .361 in the first set and dropped our hitting efficiency significantly in the sets that followed. Our blocks improved to 10.5 against Florida National. We will need to gain consistency in these areas as we continue our schedule. Looking forward to next week's games."

Up Next: 

CIU will travel to Kentucky to take on Campbellsville University and Indiana-Southeast in a tri-match on March 16th.