COLUMBIA, S.C. — CIU women's volleyball continued its strong Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) start Friday night with a 3–0 sweep over Johnson University (Tenn.) inside the Moore Fitness Center. The Rams prevailed by scores of 26–24, 25–10, 25–18 to move to 9–5 overall and 5–1 in AAC play.

Lydia Gustafson delivered a standout defensive performance at the net, recording 11 total blocks (3 solo, 8 assists). The mark is just three shy of her own program record of 14 blocks in a single match. Gustafson previously reached 11 blocks once before on Sept. 23, 2023. She also contributed offensively with six kills on .545 hitting

Mary Norwood powered the CIU attack with a match-high 12 kills on .333 hitting, while Eevy Bellar added eight kills without an error for a .533 hitting percentage. Setter Skylar Dewhirst tallied 16 assists, and libero Kelcey Mangum led the defense with 10 digs.

As a team, the Rams hit .250, racking up 32 kills with only nine errors on 100 attempts. Defensively, CIU stifled Johnson's offense, holding the Royals to a .008 hitting percentage and out-blocking them 15–3

The opening set featured 15 ties and nine lead changes before CIU edged out a 26–24 win. The Rams then dominated set two 25–10, hitting .462, and closed the match with a 25–18 victory in the third.

CIU will return to the court tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 4, as they face Union Commonwealth (Ky.) in the Moore Fitness Center at 11 a.m. ET.