CLEVELAND, Ga. — CIU women's volleyball saw its seven-match winning streak come to an end in heartbreaking fashion Tuesday night, falling to Truett McConnell University in five sets in Appalachian Athletic Conference action.
In a rematch of CIU's straight-set victory over the Bears on Sept. 22, the Rams battled through a back-and-forth match before falling 23-25, 27-25, 25-17, 25-27, 13-15. The loss moved CIU to 11-11 overall and 7-3 in AAC play.
After narrowly dropping the opening set, CIU answered in a dramatic second frame. The Rams faced set point at 24-23 before Mary Norwood tied the score with a kill. Zcearia James followed with a pair of late kills as CIU closed the set on a 4-1 run to win 27-25 and even the match.
The Rams carried that momentum into the third and turned in their best offensive stretch of the night. CIU raced out to a 12-4 advantage and never looked back, hitting .342 with 16 kills in a convincing 25-17 win to move within a set of the road victory.
The fourth set provided the night's biggest heartbreak. CIU trailed 20-16 before battling back to take a 23-21 lead. The Rams eventually held match point at 24-23 and again at 25-24, but could not put the Bears away. Truett McConnell scored the final three points to steal the set 27-25 and force a decisive fifth.
CIU again put itself in position to win in the fifth. The Rams led 6-4 early and later held advantages of 10-9, 11-10 and 12-11. Truett McConnell answered down the stretch, however, taking a 14-12 lead before closing out the match 15-13.
James paced a balanced CIU attack with 13 kills, while Katelynn Mundy finished with 12. Norwood and Savannah Kelly each added 11 kills, giving the Rams four players in double figures. Macy Brooks totaled 48 assists and 14 digs.
CIU also received a tremendous effort from its back row. Ashley Burgbacher collected 27 digs, Ashlee Gomes added 25, and Riley Decker finished with 13 as the Rams amassed 111 digs in the five-set battle.
The Rams will look to bounce back Friday when they return to the Moore Fitness Center to face Bluefield University at 6:30 p.m. ET.
