GAINESVILLE, Ga. - CIU volleyball rounded out a three-match road trip to the Peach State with an outing at Brenau University. The match was a true bounce-back opportunity for the Rams, who had picked up their first conference loss of the season over the weekend. CIU (21-7, 11-1) put the defeat behind them as they rolled past the Golden Tigers (7-14, 5-8) with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-9) sweep. 

The Rams found themselves in a fight in the first set, with the game knotted at 17-17 before a Mardi Scutchings kill put the Rams in front as CIU seized the momentum to take set one. The win propelled the Rams forward as they made short work of the Golden Tigers in the following two sets. 

Kamelia De Jesus was a catalyst for CIU's success with three aces, eight digs, and 16 assists. The Rams returned to having a second setter in the rotation as Melissa Campos Soto contributed 17 assists. Mardi Scutchings took advantage of contributions from both setters, tallying 12 kills and recording a .625 hitting percentage. Kira Rymer and Alana Sanjurjo had nine kills and eight kills, respectively, as Sanjurjo also added eight digs. Kelcey Mangum and Jadaeya Morrell assisted in holding the Golden Tiger attack at bay; Mangum led CIU in digs, while Morrell was superb at the net with six total blocks. Notably, the Rams recorded eight aces as a team and had an extremely impressive .438 hitting percentage. 

What Coach Amber Haver is saying: "Brenau has such a strong defense, and it was clear that Coach Carter had a good game plan against us. They served us very aggressively. It took us a minute to get our feet under us in the first set after that long bus ride. We made some adjustments and executed our plan effectively in the second two. Glad to see us respond accordingly. Looking forward to being back home at Moore this weekend."

Up Next: CIU returns home to host Tennesee Wesleyan University on Friday, Sept. 14, at 6:30 PM.