WALESKA, Ga. - CIU volleyball continued their Georgia road trip on Saturday as they took on reining Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) champion Reinhardt (Ga.). CIU was looking to avenge their loss to the Eagles in the 2020 AAC Tournament; however, it was not meant to be as CIU received their first AAC loss of the season, 3-1 (15-25, 25-22, 13-25, 21-25). CIU still continues a stellar start to the season as they are now 14-6 overall and 6-1 in the conference. 

The Rams struggled early but bounced back for a tight set two win. Set three and four mirrored set one, however, as CIU could not claw all the way back. Mardi Scutchings and Abbey Kleist were both bright spots for CIU as Scutchings led the Rams with 12 kills, three blocks and a .391 hitting percentage. Kleist had a solid day herself with nine kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Setter Kamelia De Jesus tallied yet another double-double with 30 assists and 13 digs, while newcomers Karla Rodriguez and Cintia Lorena also made an impact. Rodriguez had eight digs as the freshman Lorena had eight kills and three blocks. 

What Coach Amber Haver is saying: We failed to show up this afternoon.  We didn't play CIU Volleyball. We had way too many unforced errors and had trouble staying in system. Reinhardt was the better team today. We have some work to do.

Up Next: The Rams will stay on the road next Friday, Oct. 1, as they travel to Tennessee to face off with Milligan University.