MARRIETTA, Ga. - After dropping their first two matches of the Running Eagles Classic Friday, CIU women's volleyball looked to bounce back against Florida National and Talladega (Ala.). (RV) CIU would take on current USCAA national champions Florida National in the morning on Saturday and, despite winning two sets, could not overcome the Conquistadors, falling 3 sets to 2 sets. The Rams would find success against Talladega, however, as CIU would run through the Tornadoes 3-0.

MATCH ONE: FNU 3 CIU 2: (25-11, 18-25, 17-25, 25-15, 7-15): The Rams would storm out the gate in set one, taking a 17-6 advantage on the way to a dominant 25-11 set one win. The Conquistadors proved that they had talent themselves fighting back to take the next two sets. However, if with their backs against the wall in the fourth set, the Rams would again take a commanding lead going up 20-11 on their way to a 25-15 set four victory. Despite their best efforts, the Rams would get down 7-2 early in the fifth and final set and could not recover, falling in set five 15-7. 

Kira Rymer has begun to set herself apart early this season and would record her season-high in kills versus FNU picking up 18. Rymer's fellow sophomore Kamelia De Jesus racked up 31 assists as well as serving up three aces. The Rams continued to demonstrate how good they are defensively as Ingrid Ferrari had seven block assists while Rymer contributed five block assists. As a team, CIU was excellent defending the net with 18 block assists. The Rams also had one of their best matches serving the ball as they had a team total of eight aces.

MATCH TWO: CIU 3 TC 0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-14: Despite losing the first three matches of the Classic, CIU would bounce back in a big way in their fourth and final match. After a close first set, the Rams bulldozed their way past Talladega in the final two sets of the match. The Rams put up an impressive start to the second set, starting the game on a 10-1 run en route to a 25-10 victory. Set three was more of the same as CIU jumped out to a 14-4 lead taking care business with the 25-14 set win. 

Ingrid Ferrari was a vital part of the Ram attack as she had a .545 hitting percentage and seven kills. Alana Sanjurjo had her most impactful game of the Classic, racking up nine kills of her own. Kamelia De Jesus tallied 29 assists while Gabriela Vega and Camri Goodwin were excellent serving as Vega had five aces and Goodwin had three. Defensively Vega had four block assists while Karla Rodriguez had 15 digs.

What Coach Amber Haver is saying: 
"After a few rough games, we worked through some things and got back to looking like CIU volleyball. I am looking forward to getting back in the gym this week to make some adjustments."

Up Next:
The Rams will begin Appalachian Athletic Conference play on the road at Columbia College on Sept. 9.