ETTRICK, VA – The Winston-Salem State University Rams ( volleyball team picked up its third straight win, Saturday afternoon when the team took a hard-fought four-set victory over the Virginia State Trojans in the second Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Volleyball Round-Up. With each set being decided by at least seven points, momentum seemed to be the story of the day with the Rams coming out on top, 25-18, 15-25, 25-18, and 25-15.

The Rams took the win behind a strong offensive effort with 46 total kills while taking advantage of 25 Virginia State attack errors. WSSU sophomore outside hitter Sydney Holland led the way for the Rams with a team-high 15 kills in the match while the tandem of senior right side hitter Olivia Owens joined junior outside hitter Teynia Shepherd with 10 kills each. Shepherd completed the double-double with a team-high 16 digs as well.

Each set was a battle with both teams cruising at times during the set. In the opening set, the Rams took control of the match at its midway point. After playing to a 10-10 tie, the Rams opened things up with an 8-2 run to go ahead 18-12. The Rams closed out the set, scoring four of the final points in the set to take the 25-18 win. The table turned on the Rams in the middle of the second set. After the two teams played to a 14-14 tie, the Trojans dominated the Rams with an 11-2 run to give the Rams the 16-25 loss.

After the second set loss, the Rams kicked things into gear when they controlled the final two sets of the match to take the win. After playing to a 12-12 tie in the third set, the Rams outscored the Trojans with a 13-3 run to take the win. After taking the 2-1 set lead, the Rams controlled the entire fourth set. The Rams took control of the set with an 8-3. From there, the Rams pushed their lead to as many as seven points 18-11 before closing out the match with a 7-3 run to take the 25-15 win.

With the win, the Rams improve to 14-6 overall and 10-1 in CIAA play. The team returned to action later in the day when they took on the Elizabeth City State Vikings in the second match of the day.

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.