COLUMBIA, S.C. - It was a banner night for CIU volleyball as the Rams recorded their 99th and 100th win as a program, simultaneously giving head coach
Amber Haver her 100th career win as collegiate head coach. CIU picked up the two wins because of a tri-match they hosted Saturday afternoon, with Point (Ga.) and Keiser (Fla.) traveling to the Moore Fitness Center for the competitions. The Rams recorded their first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) win over Point (3-6, 0-2) in match one, and then avenged an early season loss to Keiser (19-3) with a 3-2 win over the Skyhawks in match two.
MATCH ONE: CIU 3 Point 0: (25-19, 25-17, 25-16): CIU showed why they were the preseason favorite to win the AAC as they dominated the Skyhawks in their conference opener. Setters
Kamelia De Jesus and
Melissa Campos Soto distributed the ball evenly, with De Jesus recording 17 assists and Compos Soto tallying 10. The Rams were staunch defensively, holding Point to a .052 hitting percentage while tallying 13 blocks as a team.
Kelcey Mangum aided the defensive cause with 15 digs, while the offensive effort was headed up by
Kira Rymer with nine kills.
MATCH TWO: CIU 3 Keiser 2: (25-15, 25-18, 25-27, 23-25, 16-4): CIU was positioned for their second sweep of the day before the Skyhawks stormed back to give the Rams a tremendous fight with CIU ultimately winning set five in exciting fashion, 16-14. CIU was led by freshman
Hadassah Davis who had a career-high 18 kills. The Rams had two other players record double-digit kills as
Alana Sanjurjo tallied 16 and
Jadaeya Morrell recorded ten. CIU's two-setter formation was again impressive as
Kamelia De Jesus notched 34 assists while
Melissa Campos Sotos had 19. CIU recorded a season-high 20 block assists and six solo blocks; the Rams were led by
Jadaeya Morrell, who had seven total blocks. On-target serving was a factor in the Rams' success as
Katie Nichols picked up four service aces. Notably,
Kelcey Mangum eclipsed the 30-dig mark once again this season, leaving the match versus the Seahawks with 31 digs.
Hear from head coach Amber Haver postgame:
Up Next: CIU will host Brenau (Ga.) on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 6 PM.
