WINSTON-SALEM, NC – The Winston-Salem State Rams (17-13) could not overcome some defensive miscues when the team took a three-set loss to the Catawba Indians (16-10), Tuesday. The Rams could not quite find a way to stop the aggressive offensive attack of the Indians, falling 25-19, 25-18, and 25-14.

The Rams had their struggles on both sides of the ball, but the team showed no lack of effort in the hard-fought loss. As a team, the Rams totaled a solid 31 kills in the match, but the team added 27 hitting errors that proved costly in the match. WSSU junior outside hitter Sydney Holland led the way for the Rams with eight kills while junior right side hitter Jasmine Smith added six kills. Sophomore middle blocker Christa Brown added six kills as well. Freshman libero Makayla Lytton led the WSSU defensive effort when she totaled 19 digs in the match while sophomore Michelle Murray-Garcia added seven digs.

The Rams got things started on a down note as the team struggled to a 25-19 opening set loss. Things started slowly for the Rams with the team falling into an 8-1 deficit before a Brown kill kickstarted things for the team. The Rams really kicked things into gear later in the set when the team mounted an 8-1 run to tie the set, 15-15. The run included a pair of kills from Smith and a block from Mills and junior setter Mya Snow. However, the Rams allowed five unanswered points to the Indians to fall behind, 15-20. The Rams had one more run in them when the team scored back-to-back kills from Brown and Holland, but that was all that the team could muster in the 25-19 loss.

The second set saw a better effort from the Rams, but the team struggled late in the tough loss. The Rams had a much better start to the set as the team opened the set with a 6-4 lead after a Mills kill to open the set. The effort marked the sole lead of the match for the Rams. The team would not quite hold on it as allowed Catawba to mount a 7-1 run that left the Rams trailing, 7-11. The Rams were able to work their way back into the set, cutting their deficit in half, 10-12 after a Brown kill and a Catawba attack error. After playing to a 13-15 score, the Rams' struggles arose once more as the team allowed the Indians to mount a 5-1 run and trailed, 15-21 before a three-point WSSU run pulled the team to within four points, 17-21. But Catawba went on to close out the set after the Rams allowed a final 4-1 run.

The third set saw another slow start prove costly for the Rams. The Rams opened the set on a down note for the Rams as the team allowed six unanswered points to the Indians. The Rams would stage a rally when they scored three straight points on a Mills kill followed by a Catawba attack error and a service ace from senior outside hitter Roselyn Mitchell. Once the WSSU deficit grew to as many as seve points, the Rams would never quite get back into the set as the team ended the night with the 25-14 set loss and the 3-0 match loss.

The Rams will close out the 2016 regular season when the team hosts the Livingstone Blue Bears in the regular season finale, Friday at 6:00 p.m. 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.