CONCORD, WVA – The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (11-12) took a tough road loss, Saturday when the team fell to the Concord (W. Va.) Mountain Lions (14-12). Though the Lady Rams gave a solid overall effort, the team's offensive struggles proved costly in the three-set loss. The team showed some signs of life throughout the match, but fell, 12-25, 21-25, and 17-25.

The Lady Rams had little problems getting kills in the tough loss, but the team's attack errors proved to be too much to overcome in the loss. As a team, the Lady Rams totaled 33 kills in the three sets, but damaged themselves with 25 attack errors. WSSU freshman outside hitter Jasmine Smith led the way with nine kills and a service ace while fellow freshman Sydney Holland added eight kills. Defensively, freshman Haley Miller added 21 digs.

The WSSU struggles began in the opening set when the team managed just 12 points on nine kills. Making things worse were the team's eight errors in the set. The troubles began early for the Lady Rams when the team fell into a 2-10 deficit. The team showed some signs of life during the set when they went on a 5-2 run to pull to within five points of the Mountain Lion 7-12. But that would be as close as the Lady Rams would manage only two more points in the set to finish with the 12-25 loss.

The Lady Rams came back for a much better effort in the second set of the match, but the team fell, 20-25. After once again falling behind early, the Lady Rams clawed their way into set behind 13 total team kills. Things looked bleak once again for the Lady Rams as they fell behind 2-7. The team responded with five straight points to tie the set, 7-7. The team showed their resolve once again in the set when they once again fell behind, 13-19. They responded with a 4-1 run to pull to within three points of the Mountain Lions, 17-20. However, they could not get any closer and ended the set with the 20-25 loss.

The Lady Rams gave a much better early effort in the final set of the match, but the team faded late in the tough loss. Things looked good for the Lady Rams as the team stayed within one point of the Mountain Lions, 6-7. However, the Lady Rams would never gain the lead and fell behind by six points, 9-15. Though down, the Lady Rams answered the challenge and pulled to within two points of the Mountain Lions with a four-point run. After pulling to within one point of the Mountain Lions, 16-17, the Lady Rams' magic ran out as the team was outscored 9-1 to end the match.

With the loss, the Lady Rams fall to 11-12 on the season. The team will return to action, Monday evening when they take on the Shaw Lady Bears for a 7:00 p.m. Senior Night Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) match. For more information on Lady Rams volleyball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.