The Rams’ women’s volleyball team were again on the road to take on Virginia State Tuesday night and came away with a win in three straight sets: 25-13, 25-20, 25-12. With the win the Rams improved their season record to (6-2) and the Trojans fell to (6-3). It was a good bounce back win on the road for the team after the loss to Shippensburg on Sept. 1.
“Virginia State is an up and coming program. They seem to get better every year. They have an impressive arena and passionate fans,” Rams head coach Alex Hoekstra said. “The atmosphere was more intense than our first seven matches.”
It was a well-balanced team effort on the Rams side with three players registering five kills or more in sophomore middle hitter Nicole Murray, junior outside hitter Seone Good, and junior outside hitter Cambriea Hill. Hill also had an ace with the Rams getting seven total for the match.
Hoekstra put some praise onto the team following the victory, “We have had some early injuries already. Our depth has allowed us to be competitive and win six out of our first eight matches,” Hoekstra said. “Serving has been a focus all offseason and we currently have 66 aces (2.3 per set).”
As one could expect in a victory, the Rams finished the game leading in the important statistical categories. For the game Shepherd’s hitting percentage was .235 whereas the Trojans posted a -.038. The Rams also finished the game ahead in Kills: 27-20, errors: 11-20, Aces: 7-3, Blocks: 2-1, and Assists: 25-20.
Rams senior setter Becca Kern had another strong showing, with 20 assists of the team total 25 to go along with her five aces.
“We have a tough schedule this year and we will need all hands-on deck continue to be successful,” Hoekstra said. “Our goal is to take one match at a time and get better each week. With this being our last season in the Mount East Conference we want to make it memorable.”
The Rams have a chance to pick up back-to-back wins when they travel to Millersville, Pennsylvania, to take on Adelphi Saturday, Sept. 8. The match is set to begin at 3 p.m.
Vaughn Brewer is sports editor for The Picket. He can be reached at vbrewe01@rams.shepherd.edu
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