FAYETTEVILLE, NC – The Winston-Salem State Rams (6-5, 3-1 CIAA) opened Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Southern Division play on a down note, Thursday evening when the team took a four-set loss to the Fayetteville State Lady Broncos (4-3, 2-2 CIAA). The Rams gave a strong offensive effort in the match, but the team came up short, 23-25, 25-14, 25-27 and 21-25.

The Rams had a strong overall effort in the match, but came up short against the Lady Broncos' defensive effort. The team totaled 40 kills in the match, but needed 117 total attacks to get them. The team also recorded six service aces in the match. WSSU junior outside hitter Jasmine Smith led the way for the Rams with 10 kills in the match. Senior middle blocker Jocelyn Mills added nine kills while sophomore middle blocker Christa Brown added nine kills as well. Defensively, sophomore libero Michelle Murray-Garcia led the way with 13 digs.

The entire match was hard-fought from the very beginning with the Rams barely falling 23-25 in the opening set. In the early going, it was all Rams with WSSU jumping out to an early 4-1 lead and keeping the lead midway through the set. It was then that things got tough when Fayetteville State went on a 5-1 run that left the Rams trailing for the first time, 16-14. The Rams played on and were able to catch up to the Lady Broncos and tied the set, 22-22 before a WSSU attack error and a Fayetteville State kill ended the set and gave the Rams the opening set loss.

The second set was the best one for the Rams as the team took control early and never looked back. The Rams opened the set with a nine-point run to go up, 9-0. Fayetteville State would claw their way back into the set when they went on a 9-3 run that cut the Rams' lead down to three points, 12-9. However, the Rams would not allow the set to slip away. The team really pulled away later in the set with a 10-1 run that sealed the win and tied the match score 1-1.

The third set was another hard-fought set with the Rams falling short, 25-27. After playing things close early in the set, the Rams took control with a four-point run that put the team on top, 11-9. After pulling ahead to a 19-15 lead, struggles began for WSSU as the team allowed Fayetteville State to tie the set before falling, 25-27.

The final set was another hard-fought effort, but in the end, the Rams could not quite come out with the win. It was Fayetteville State with the big lead early as the Rams trailed, 1-6 before storming back with a 12-6 run to take a 13-12 lead of their own.  After playing to a 16-16 tie, the tide turned to the Lady Broncos with WSSU falling behind, 16-20. The Rams answered back with a four-point run capped by a Mills block to cut the WSSU deficit down to one point, 19-20. However, a Smith kill and a Fayetteville State attack error were all that the Rams could muster as the team took the 21-25 set loss and the four-set match loss.

With the loss, the Rams fall to 6-5 overall and 3-1 in CIAA play. The team also falls to 0-1 in CIAA Southern Division play. The Rams will return to action, Monday when the team hosts the Saint Augustine's Falcons in a 7:00 p.m. match. 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.