KINGSPORT, Tenn. — CIU volleyball opened the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament with a dominant straight-set victory on Friday morning, sweeping No. 9–seeded Bluefield 25–17, 25–21, 25–8 at the MeadowView Marriott Resort and Convention Center. The win advances the Rams to Saturday's semifinals.

CIU (23–6) hit .244 as a team and controlled the match from start to finish, highlighted by an overwhelming third set in which the Rams posted 11 kills with just one error en route to a .588 hitting percentage.

Zcearia James powered the CIU attack with 11 kills on .429 hitting while adding a block assist. Lydia Gustafson followed with eight kills and three total blocks, including one solo. Eevy Bellar was efficient with five kills on .333 hitting and a team-high six block assists as CIU out-blocked Bluefield 14–8.

Katelynn Mundy added four kills and two block assists, and Mary Norwood contributed five kills with a .154 hitting mark. Setter Maria Ferreira directed the offense with 10 assists, four service aces, and three digs, while fellow setter Macy Brooks tallied 20 assists, an ace, and three digs.

Defensively, libero Kelcey Mangum anchored the back row with 16 digs, while Bellamy Fennell added 12. The Rams finished with 42 digs overall and limited Bluefield to a -.031 hitting percentage for the match.

CIU advances to Saturday's semifinal round and will face the winner of Pikeville and Brenau at 10 a.m. ET. The AAC Tournament is being held at the MeadowView Marriott Resort and Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn.