Nov. 14, 2003

Durham, NC - The second game in pool play of the 2003 CIAA Volleyball Championships in Durham, NC would dictate that the Lady Rams of Winston-Salem State University would do battle against their most bitter rival, the Lady Eagles of North Carolina Central University.

The Lady Rams would be at a distinct disadvantage, even before the opening serve, as they would square off against NCCU on the Lady Eagles home floor, on the campus of North Carolina Central University, as well as having to play only 15 minutes after dispatching the Shaw University Lady Bears in a hard-fought four-game match. Despite all the factors mounted against them, the Lady Rams would mount an impressive showing, winning the first game before dropping the next three, eventually falling in defeat by the score of 3-1.

WSSU led deep into game one, holding the 23-17 advantage when the Lady Eagles took a time out to talk things over. To NCCU's credit, they would mount a comeback and keep the first game's result in question, but a service error with the game on the line found the net, and the Lady Rams hung on for the game one victory, 30-28. The victory would mark the first time, in two meetings this season, that the Lady Rams were able to win a game versus the Lady Eagles, as both other matches (9/16/03 and 10/21/03) were 3-0 NCCU victories.

The second game was a different story as the Lady Eagles dominated throughout. NCCU, and their workmanlike approach to fundamentals, coupled with costly WSSU unforced errors led to an easy cruise to victory for NC Central, as they easily posted the win by the score of 30-22. However, the Lady Rams did keep it close for the majority of game two, before falling in defeat to tie the game at one game each.

Games three and four would go the way of the Lady Eagles, and the Rams would fall to 1-1 overall on the day, and 12-18 overall with the 3-1 loss by the score of 30-28; 23-30; 28-30, and 16-30.

Leading the way for the Lady Rams would once again be Chasity Clark (Jr./5'9"/OH/Winston-Salem, NC) as she tallied 11 kills. Porche Williams would pace the Lady Eagles with 23 kills on 58 total attempts.

Winston-Salem State is in action again later Friday evening as they take on the Lady Panthers of Virginia Union University. The game is slated for a 5:00 pm first serve in the Walker Physical Education complex