CHARLOTTE, NC – The Winston-Salem State Rams (10-5, 7-0 CIAA) found their stride early and never looked back when the team took an impressive three-set victory over the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls (3-12, 1-6 CIAA), Monday evening. After battling their way to a 25-21 opening set win, the Rams cruised in the final two sets, 25-17, and 25-9.

The Rams took the win behind a great service effort in the match as the team totaled 13 service aces in the match. The Rams also totaled 29 kills in the match. Defensively, the team had a great effort as well with 13 total blocks (two solo) in the match along with 17 total digs. Senior right side hitter Olivia Owens led the way for the Rams with seven kills and six total blocks (two solo) while junior outside hitter Teynia Shepherd added six kills.

The match was a battle early, but once the Rams found their stride, the team could not be stopped. The opening set was the toughest for the Rams as they found themselves trailing the Golden Bulls, 12-19. However, the Ram soon kicked things into gear when they outscored the Golden Bulls 13-2 to close out the set and take the opening victory. The run included a pair of WSSU service aces and two WSSU kills, but was fueled by several JCSU attack errors. The second set saw much of the same with the Rams falling behind 9-11. Soon the Rams took control of the set with a seven-point run that included four JCSU errors and went ahead 16-11. With the set under control, the Rams went on to take the set win with a 9-6 run that sealed the 25-17 win. After taking the opening two sets, the Rams poured it on in the final set. The team opened the final set clicking on all cylinders to take a 10-1 run. The Rams allowed back-to-back scores by the Golden Bulls just once during the set to allow JCSU to leave the score 19-7, but the Rams were took much as they closed out the match with a 25-9 win.

With the win, Rams improve to 10-5 and remain a perfect 7-0 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) play. The team also improved to 4-0 in the CIAA Southern Division. The Rams will return to action, Thursday when the team heads to nearby Salisbury, N.C. to take on the Livingstone College Blue Bears. For more information on Rams volleyball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.