FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Winston-Salem (17-12, 13-9 CIAA) lost to Fayetteville St. (22-4, 19-3 CIAA) 3-0 on Thursday, with set scores of 20-25, 12-25 and 10-25. The Rams were held to 18 kills and a -.037 hitting percentage, finishing without a set above .038.
After the set was tied 1-1, Fayetteville St. went in front 2-1, but WSSU answered with five straight points, four of them on
Zaria Keys' serve, to move ahead 6-2 behind kills by
Holiday Ellis and Keys.
Aria Caldwell added three kills as the Rams stayed in front, and after Fayetteville St. cut the gap to 13-11, blocks involving
Kamiyah Wilson and
Sarah Sanders helped WSSU build a 19-15 lead. Fayetteville St. followed with nine straight points, with Kemyah Harris serving the final eight of that run, to reach set point at 24-19. Ellis stopped the run with a kill, but Erin Johnson closed the set for Fayetteville St. at 25-20.
The Rams cut an early 4-1 deficit to 4-3 after a Mya Hejl service error and a Destiny Washington attack error, but Fayetteville St. answered with kills from Kemyah Harris, Melissa Gonzalez and Amori Johnson during a stretch that pushed the set to 9-3.
Aria Caldwell's kill and a Wilson block brought WSSU within 9-5, and Wilson later added a kill at 12-6 before Fayetteville St. scored five straight, including two Jasmine Culp service aces, to go ahead 17-6. After Caldwell stopped that stretch with a kill and Fayetteville St. moved ahead 18-7 on another Hejl kill, Sanders had a kill as the Rams took three straight points to make it 18-10. Fayetteville St. closed with six of the final two points, including a Washington kill and back-to-back Washington aces for the final two points, to take the set 25-12.
Fayetteville St. opened the third set with four straight points, including a Giovanna Teixeira service ace and kills by Kyla Powell and Destiny Washington, before Wilson put WSSU on the board. The Rams got back within 6-4 on a
Zoe Chesson-Caldwell block and a Sanders kill, but Fayetteville St. pushed the margin to 10-4 and later strung together nine consecutive points to move ahead 19-5, with Kemyah Harris serving three aces during that stretch. Sanders, Ellis and Chesson added late kills for WSSU, but Fayetteville St. reached set point at 24-9 and finished the set on Teixeira's kill for a 25-10 decision.
WSSU hit -.037 with 18 kills and 21 attack errors, while Fayetteville St. finished at .189 with 35 kills and 15 attack errors. Fayetteville St. also had the statistical edge from the service line and at the net, recording 10 aces to the Rams' none and 11 total blocks to WSSU's five.
Rams Top Performers
Aria Caldwell
- team-high six kills
- team-high 6.5 points
- one block
Zaria Keys
- team-high 10 assists
- one kill
- one dig
Kalyn Cuthbertson
- team-high 10 digs
- one assist
Kamiyah Wilson
- team-high three blocks, including two solo
- two kills
- 4.5 points
Up Next
Come cheer on the Rams in Rocky Mount, NC, on Monday, November 9th, for the CIAA Tournament!
For more information on Winston-Salem State Athletics and its 12 varsity sports, visit wssurams.com.
