WINSTON-SALEM, NC – The Winston-Salem State Rams (10-5, 6-1 CIAA) saved their best performance for last when the team took a three-set win over the Elizabeth City State Vikings (0-12, 0-7 CIAA), Saturday evening. With the win, the Rams completed day one of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Round Up with a pair of victories and remained undefeated against teams from the CIAA Northern Division with a three-set win, 25-7, 25-13, and 25-22.

The Rams took the win behind a stellar overall performance with several Rams stepping up for the victory. WSSU senior outside hitter Teynia Shepherd and sophomore outside hitter Mia Herrod both recorded nine kills in the match while freshman Eboni Abdus-Samad added a career-high six kills.

The Rams wasted little time in taking control of the opening set and never looked back. The team opened the match with nine unanswered points before claiming a 13-1 lead. The Rams only allowed back-to-back Vikings scores once during the set to hold on to a 17-6 lead before rolling to the victory.

The second set saw a much better effort by the Vikings, but in the end, the Rams were able to come out on top, 25-13. After jumping out to a 7-3 lead, the Rams saw a challenge from the Vikings as the WSSU lead was reduced to two points, 7-5. The Rams had an answer, however with five unanswered points to stay on top, 12-5. From there, the Rams went ahead by as many as 11 points, 21-10 before ECSU went on a 3-2 run and shaved a point off the WSSU lead and left the Rams on top, 23-13. From there, the Rams closed on the set with kills from Shepherd and Abdus-Samad.

The third set was the most competitive one as the Rams had to fend off a real challenge from the Vikings. After claiming a 12-5 lead, the Rams soon had to fend off strong 10-2 rally from the Vikings that left WSSU trailing 14-17. Once challenged, the Rams stepped things up when they scored five unanswered points to take a 19-17 lead. Elizabeth City State would make one last stand when they reclaimed the lead on a three-point rally the left WSSU trailing, 21-22, but in the end, the Rams closed out the match when an ECSU attack error was followed by back-to-back kills from sophomore outside hitter Sydney Holland to seal the 25-22 set win and the match victory.

With the win, the Rams improve to 10-5 overall and 6-1 in CIAA play. The team will close out the CIAA Round Up tomorrow with another key match when the team takes on the Chowan Hawks. For more information on Rams volleyball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on towww.WSSURams.com.