WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Winston-Salem (17-11, 13-8 CIAA) defeated Claflin (13-20, 6-15 CIAA) 3-2 on Monday. After falling behind 2-1 in sets, the Rams won the fourth 25-18 and the fifth 18-16.
Holiday Ellis put the Rams on the board with the first point of the opening set, but Claflin moved in front 4-1 on three WSSU attack errors and later stretched the lead to 12-5 with Aryanna Connell and Zaniya Harris kills around a Rams sanction. WSSU worked back into the set through kills by
Aria Caldwell,
Zoe Chesson and Ellis, with two Claflin attack errors getting the margin to 18-15 before Ellis followed a later kill with a service ace to make it 19-17. Claflin answered with four straight points to go up 23-17, and although
Kamiyah Wilson, Caldwell and
Sarah Sanders added late kills for the Rams, a bad set closed Claflin's 25-20 set win.
Ellis put WSSU on the board with a kill from
Celina Johnson, and
Kalyn Cuthbertson served the next five points as the Rams moved ahead 6-0 behind a service ace, a Wilson kill and another Ellis finish. Claflin worked back into the set, using kills from Monica Burns, Grayson Graham and Aryanna Connell, then later closing within 11-10 on a Burns kill. WSSU created separation again with a Chesson kill, a Cuthbertson ace and two Claflin errors for a 15-10 lead, then pushed the margin to 20-13 on
Aria Caldwell's kill. Chesson's kill gave the Rams set point at 24-20, and after Claflin scored twice, a Burns bad set closed WSSU's 25-22 set win.
After Claflin moved ahead 6-2 behind consecutive service aces by Abigail Watts, the Rams cut into the gap with two Ellis kills and a Caldwell block, pulling even at 7-7 before Claflin went back in front 8-7. Caldwell tied the set with a kill, and WSSU took six of the next seven points, with
Alyssa Noble and Sanders kills from
Amada Sawyer helping push the advantage to 13-9. The lead reached 20-16 after Wilson kills around a Claflin service error, but Claflin scored five straight, using two Taylor Miller blocks and an Aryanna Connell ace to move ahead 21-20. Sanders answered with a kill and the Rams went back up 23-21 on consecutive Claflin attack errors, but Zaniya Harris delivered three straight kills before a final WSSU attack error gave Claflin the set, 25-23.
Ellis put the Rams in front early with kills on their first four points, and
Zaria Keys' serve helped push the advantage from 3-1 to 7-1 with Ellis and Keys kills around two Claflin attack errors. Claflin got as close as 9-4 on a service ace by Joi Tinsley, but
Tehani Moniz answered with kills at 10-4, 12-5 and 14-7 as WSSU moved ahead 16-7. The teams traded points through the middle of the set, with Noble, Wilson, Keys and Caldwell kills keeping the Rams in front at 21-11. Claflin put together three-point pushes to reach 21-14 and later 24-18, but Chesson and
Jewel Pitt supplied late kills before Ellis finished the set with a kill for a 25-18 WSSU win.
The Rams broke a 1-1 tie with seven straight points, getting two kills from Ellis, a Cuthbertson ace and consecutive Wilson kills to move in front 8-1. Claflin cut into the gap and, after WSSU led 10-6, scored seven straight points behind Aryanna Connell kills and Rams attack errors to go ahead 13-10. Caldwell stopped that run with a kill, and Sanders added back-to-back kills to tie the set at 13-13 before the teams traded points through 16-16. Chesson put WSSU back in front with a kill, and Ellis finished the set with a kill from Cuthbertson for an 18-16 win.
Rams Top Performers
Holiday Ellis
- 26 kills
- 35 digs
- 27.0 points
- 1 service ace
Kalyn Cuthbertson
- 5 service aces
- 22 digs
- 5 assists
Celina Johnson
Zaria Keys
- 21 assists
- 13 digs
- 2 kills on .500 hitting
Jewel Pitt
Up next
The Rams volleyball team travels to Fayetteville, North Carolina, to face Fayetteville State University on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at 6 p.m.
