PIKEVILLE, Ky. - CIU volleyball faced the newest member of the Appalachian Athletic Conference, Pikeville (Ky.), on Saturday as CIU wrapped up a westwardly road trip. The match would have the same result that each of CIU's matches this season have had, as the Rams came away with their 18th straight win, 3-0 (25-15, 25-10, 25-15). The Rams are now 18-0 overall and 9-0 in the conference. CIU's active conference win streak dates back to Oct. 11, 2022, having won 18 consecutive AAC regular season matches.  

After being tested on Friday versus Milligan (Tenn.) the Rams left no chance for Pikeville to try to form a Cinderella story as CIU controlled the contest from start to finish without trailing once in the match. Freshman Gracen Norris was vital to the Rams' success, hitting .455 with seven kills. Kira Rymer Attaway led CIU in kills with 11, while Hanah Weiss added eight kills and two solo blocks.

Kamelia De Jesus stuffed the stat sheet with 16 assists, seven digs, and three aces. Her setter teammate Melissa De Campos Soto evened De Jesus up on assists with 16 of her own. 

Gabriela Vega was solid all afternoon with three solo blocks, while Libero Kelcey Mangum had seven digs and three service aces.

What Coach Katie Weiss is saying is, "I am glad to have this road trip behind us and come away with two wins. It would have been easy to have a let-down match after the intense competition we had yesterday, but our girls stayed focused and took care of business. 

Up Next: CIU stays on the road to square off with St. Andrews (N.C) on Tuesday, Oct. 3, with a match slated for 6:30 p.m. EST.