KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The CIU volleyball team recorded two NCCAA wins while simultaneously picking up an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) victory in their Saturday tri-match. The Rams swept fellow NCCAA and AAC member Johnson (Tenn.), 3-0, before blanking NCCAA Divison II foe Appalachian Bible (W.V.), 3-0 later in the afternoon. The Rams move to 15-6 overall and 5-0 in the AAC.
MATCH ONE: CIU 3 Johnson 0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-8): The Rams' impressive AAC run continued in match one as CIU finished off the match, not allowing the Royals to get into double-digits in the final set. The Rams recorded 18 blocks and assists to turn aside the Royal attack, with five blocks coming from
Lydia Gustafson and four from
Kira Rymer. Rymer was also one of two players to record double-digit kills with 12, while
Alana Sanjurjo was the other with 11 kills. In addition, both
Katie Nichols (10 digs) and
Kelcey Mangum (14 digs) totaled double-digit digs, while
Kamelia De Jesus was just shy of a double-double with 26 assists and nine digs.
MATCH TWO: CIU 3 Appalachian Bible 0 (25-16, 25-5, 25-8): All 16 players who dressed for the contest played as the Rams took care of the Warriors.
Jadaeya Morrell led CIU with seven kills while
Hadassah Davis had six, and
Mardi Scutchings added five.
Melissa Campos Soto led CIU in assists with 18 to go along with six digs.
Daytan Vallinch also contributed defensively with nine digs. However, most impressive was that the Rams had 18 service aces as a team, and Morrell set the program's single-match service ace record with eight service aces.
What Coach Amber is Haver is saying: "Glad to close out this Kentucky/Tennessee road trip with two more sweeps. We were able to get everyone some playing time this weekend and play around with some different options we haven't worked on previously. I'd like to see us tighten up in some areas, but overall, I'm pleased with the performance this weekend."
Up Next: The Rams will travel to Truett McConnell (Ga.) for a match with the Bears at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
