RALEIGH, NC – The Winston-Salem State Rams (8-4, 5-0 CIAA) stepped their defensive efforts to take a three-set road win over the Saint Augustine's Falcons (6-6, 3-2 CIAA). The win was the fifth straight Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) win and their second straight CIAA Southern Division win, 25-15, 25-22, and 25-12.

The Rams took the win behind a great defensive effort as they held the Falcons to just 21 kills in the match. WSSU junior middle blocker Jocelyn Mills and junior outside hitter Teynia Shepherd both recorded nine kills each in the match while sophomore outside hitter Sydney Holland added seven kills along with 15 digs. Freshman libero Michelle Murray-Garcia led the WSSU defense with 23 digs in the match.

The Rams controlled the entire match with impressive wins in all three sets of the match. The opening set was one of the most impressive for the Rams and they took control early and never looked back. The Rams kicked things off when they jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the set. From there, the Rams not only  held on to their three-point lead, the team pushed it to as many as five points, 10-5 before pulling away with the set win with an 8-2 run that gave the team the 25-15 set win. Things were a bit tougher in the second set when the Rams once again built a 12-7 lead before Saint Augustine's stormed back to cut the WSSU lead down to one point, 19-18. Though the Falcons would tie the set 23-23, the Rams sealed the set win by forcing a pair of SAU attack errors. With the two-set lead, the Rams closed out the set with an impressive third-set victory. The Rams jumped out early with a 7-1 lead in the set. After pushing their lead to as many as eight points, 18-11, the Rams wrapped things up with a 7-1 run that ended the match, 25-12.

The Rams will return to action this weekend when the team heads to Murfreesoboro, N.C. to compete in the second CIAA Volleyball Round-Up hosted by Chowan University. 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.