COLUMBIA - Despite giving up their first set in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play Thursday night, CIU volleyball would still hold onto their spotless conference record, grinding by Pikeville (Ky.) 3-1 (27-29, 25-17, 25-10, 25-1). The set one loss is the first the Rams have given up in conference action at home since Oct. 15, 2022, in a match in which they grabbed a five-set win over Bryan (Tenn.) After CIU's win on Thursday, the Rams hold a 17-1 overall record in a 7-0 record in the AAC.

UPike showed grit from the opening serve as they would battle back from a 24-21 deficit in the first set and pull out the 29-27 set win. However, the Rams would dig in their heels behind freshmen Katie Camp and Ava Koselke to take the next three sets. Camp recorded a notable .440 hitting percentage to accompany 14 kills. Koselke picked her season high in kills with ten. The Ram's attack was bolstered by the veteran presence of Hadassah Davis (13 kills) and Hanah Weiss (11 kills) who both landed several timely attacks on the Bears side of the net.

Melissa Campos Soto and Kamelia De Jesus each posted 25 assists in an impressive showing from the Rams setter duo. Kelcey Mangum rounded out the Ram's performance with 30 digs, while CIU had a whopping 11 service aces as a team, with three coming from Gabriela Vega.

What Coach Katie Weiss is saying, "Hats off to Pikeville for competing the way they did. We know from our own experience in this conference how hard it is to play well after traveling as far as they had to. Glad to get the win but we have a lot improve on as we get close to the second half of our conference schedule."

Up Next: The Rams have a quick turnaround hosting Milligan (Tenn.) tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 4, at 6:30 p.m. EST.