CALIFORNIA, PA – The Winston-Salem State Rams (3-3) gave a strong effort, but the team could not top the high-powered Davis & Elkins Senators (2-6) in a four-set loss on the second day of the Vulcans Invitational, Saturday morning. The Rams had some highs and lows throughout the match, but were not quite able to pull things out as they fell, 18-25, 27-25, 5-25, and 24-26.

The Rams saw peaks and valleys throughout the match. As a team, the Rams finished the match with 37 kills, but the team's 29 attack errors did them no favors. WSSU junior setter Jasmine Smith led the way for the Rams with 11 kills while senior outside hitter Teynia Shepherd recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs in the match.

The Rams struggled to get started as they took a tough 25-18 loss in the opening set. Things looked good early in the set as the Rams battled their way to a 13-10 lead, but allowed Davis & Elkins to tie the set 16-16. Later in the set, the Rams were on the bad side of a six-point run by the Senators that left WSSU trailing, 17-22. Smith and senior middle blocker Jocelyn Mills blocked a D&E attack for the only other WSSU score of the set as the Rams fell, 25-18.

After struggling early in the match, the Rams had their best set of the weekend when they took a 27-25 set win over the Senators. After falling behind, 1-3, the Rams battled their way back to a 6-6 tie. The two teams continued their battle throughout the set with WSSU taking a 19-18 lead. However, the Rams allowed D&E to regain the lead after a three-point run by the Senators and trailed, 22-24. With the set on the line, the Rams really kicked things into gear when they went on a 5-1 run that included a pair of kills from sophomore middle blocker Christa Brown and gave the Rams the 27-25 set win.

After recording one of their best sets of the weekend, the Rams struggled mightily in the third set, falling 25-5. For the set, the Rams managed just two kills and were only able to score on three more Davis & Elkins errors.

The Rams bounced back for a much better effort in the fourth set, but the team could not quite get the job done, falling, 26-24. The Rams jumped out early in the set, building an 8-3 lead to open the set. The Rams kept up the pressure with an 8-1 run that left the Rams on top, 16-6. However, after the Rams kept ahead 20-10, the Rams soon ran into some struggles as Davis & Elkins mounted a five-point run and cut the WSSU lead in half, 20-15. From there, the Rams managed just three more kills while the Senators closed the set with a 9-4 run and sealed the four-set loss for the Rams.

With the loss, the Rams fall to 3-4 on the season. The team will return to action later in the day to close out the tournament against Grand Valley State. 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.