Nov. 22, 2008
SPARTANBURG, SC - The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (4-28) ended the 2008 season on a sour note with a 3-0 loss to the North Florida Ospreys (13-17), Saturday morning in the single-elimination round of the Mr. Gotti's Provisional Tournament. The Lady Rams ended the season with a bang as the squad posted one of their best offensive showings of the season and matched the Ospreys in nearly every offensive category. However, it was WSSU miscues that would cost the Lady Rams in the loss.
The Lady Rams put up a great fight in their final match of the season, falling to the Ospreys 20-25, 14-25, . The match turned out to be an offensive showdown with the two squads notched 33 kills each. With both teams putting up big numbers, it was the Lady Rams holding the defensive edge in the match with 36 digs. However, the Lady Rams committed 19 attack errors with 11 receiving errors. The WSSU miscues turned out to be the difference in the match as the Lady Rams ended the day with the loss.
WSSU junior hitter Annika Barnwell led the way with 13 kills and seven digs for the Lady Rams. She also added a solo block. Sophomore hitter Erica Cole added a season-high seven kills as well. WSSU senior Valentina Pushkina ended her WSSU career with 24 assists in the loss as well. On the defensive end, it was a pair of Lady Rams that led the way with sophomore hitter Ashley Harris added 11 digs while freshman libero Ebony Brown added a career-high 10 digs in the loss.
The first set was a hard-fought affair as the Lady Rams kept the Ospreys within reach for the entire set, battle to a 19-19 tie. However, the WSSU offense would suddenly shut down as an Osprey attack error was the only score that the Lady Rams could muster while North Florida went on a 6-1 run that ended the set for the Lady Rams, 20-25.
|
|
 |
The Lady Rams' struggles at the end of the first set would carry over into the second set as the team fell into an early 7-3 deficit. All three WSSU points came from Osprey errors in the early going of the set. A Cole kill later in the set would spark the Lady Rams' efforts as the team climbed back into the match with a 3-1 run that left WSSU behind, 7-11. However, the error bug would snap the WSSU run and spark an Osprey run that put the set out of the Lady Rams' reach in a hurry as the team allowed six straight Osprey points and could never get back into the set. In the end, the Lady Rams took the 14-25 loss in the set.
The final set of the season saw the Lady Rams put up a valiant fight, battling their way to a 17-16 lead over the Ospreys after a North Florida ballhandling error. The Lady Rams found themselves trailing once again, however, after three unanswered scores by the Ospreys. Down the stretch of the match, the Lady Rams managed just two more kills while North Florida shut the door on the WSSU season with an 8-4 run.
With the loss, the Lady Rams end the 2008 season at 4-28, but the future is bright for the Lady Rams as the squad will lose just one senior, Valentina Pushkina. For more information on Lady Rams volleyball, please contact the WSSU Department of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2909 or log on to www.WSSURams.com..
