FAYETTEVILLE, NC – The Winston-Salem State Rams (11-6, 8-1 CIAA) took their first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) loss of the season when the team took a five-set road loss to the Fayetteville State Lady Broncos (7-9, 5-4 CIAA), Monday evening. After starting the match with losses in the opening two sets 20-25 and 23-25, the Rams staged a furious rally with back-to-back set wins of their own 25-23 and 25-22, but fell just short, 12-15 in the final set of the match.

The loss came in spite of a great overall effort by the Rams. As a team, the Rams totaled 49 kills in the match along with 20 total blocks (four solo). Junior outside hitter Teynia Shepherd led the way for the Rams with a double-double 15 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore setter Jasmine Smith also added a double-double effort of her own with 10 kills and 17 assists. She nearly pulled off the rare triple double when she added eight digs in the match as well. Junior middle blocker Jocelyn Mills also had a great performance with 12 kills and nine total blocks (three solo).

It took a while for the Rams to get things going as the team took losses in the opening two sets. The first set was a back-and-forth affair with momentum swinging to both sides of the court. After opening set, trailing, 1-5, the Rams were able to get things into gear with four straight points to tie the set, 5-5. The momentum swung once again with Rams falling behind once again 11-15 before once again scoring four unanswered points to tie the set, 15-15. From there, the two teams battled to a 19-19 tie before a five-point Fayetteville State run left the Rams trailing, 24-19. After an FSU attack error broke the skid for the Rams, the team allowed a final Bronco kill to end the set, 20-25. The second set saw another slow start for the Rams as the team fell behind, 1-6. The WSSU deficit grew to as many as seven points, 3-10 before the Rams battled back. The Rams mounted an 8-1 run to tie the set 11-11. It was Mills who powered the run with a block assist and a kills during the run. From there, the Rams ran into some more struggles as they fell behind by as many as eight points, 14-22. The Rams kicked things into gear when they scored five straight points to pull within three points, 19-22. The run included a Shepherd kill and four FSU attack errors. After allowing back-to-back scores to the Lady Broncos, the Rams made one last effort to cut their deficit down to one point, 24-23, but the Rams fell victim to one last FSU kill that ended the set 23-25.

After back-to-back set losses by the Rams, the team mounted a furious rally to fight back into the match. This time, it was the Rams who opened the set with the strong start as the team jumped out to a 6-2 lead before Fayetteville State came back to tie the set, 9-9. After battling to a 12-12 tie, the Rams went on a four-point run to go ahead, 16-12. The team would maintain their lead, 22-18 before Fayetteville State staged a rally of their own. After holding off the Lady Broncos, 23-22, the Rams closed out the set with an FSU attack error, one killed allowed, and finally a Smith kill. The close battle continued well into the fourth set. After playing to a 9-9 tie, the Rams played their way to a 14-13 tie before mounting a 5-1 run that left the Rams on top, 19-14. After going ahead by as many as five points, 22-17, the Rams had to fend off a late FSU rally that cut the WSSU lead down to two points 24-22. After allowing a pair of points to the Lady Broncos, the Rams closed the set with a kill by sophomore outside hitter Sydney Holland that ended the set, 25-22.

Though the Rams tied the match at 2-2, the team just did not have enough to pull off the victory. The two teams played to a 6-6 tie before Fayetteville State scored three unanswered points to leave the Rams trailing 6-9. The Rams would mount a run, however, when they went on a 3-1 run to pull to within a point, 12-13. From there, an FSU kill and a WSSU attack error ended the match for the Rams.

With the loss, the team falls to 11-6 and 8-1 in CIAA play. The loss was also the first CIAA Southern Division loss for the Rams who fall to 5-1 in division play. The Rams will return to action, Monday evening when the team hosts the Saint Augustine's Falcons on Alumni Night. For more information on Rams volleyball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or long on to www.WSSURams.com.