WINSTON-SALEM, NC – The Virginia State University Trojan volleyball team prepares for their CIAA Quarterfinal Matchup against Winston-Salem State on Monday, November 7 at 6:00 p.m. As the fifth seed, the Trojans will travel to fourth seeded WSSU for the matchup. The winner of the matchup will take on the winner between first seeded Shaw and eighth seeded Claflin. The Trojans will look to avenge last seasons Quarterfinals loss to Claflin 3-2
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Series History
The Trojans are 4-10 against the Winston-Salem State Rams since 2012. Their last match resulted in a 3-1 win for the Rams in the Second CIAA Volleyball Roundup. The Trojans will look to right the ship as WSSU has won four of the last five matchups.
Trojans Leaders
Helena Eubanks leads the Trojans on the offensive side as she has a team-high 246 kills averaging 2.32 per set.
Amaya Cooper is second in kills with 220 averaging 2.12 per set with a ridiculous .237 hitting percentage.
Makenzy Johnson and
Emma Quarles as a duo lead the Trojans in assists as they account for 839 assists between the two with Quarles leading the team with having 464 and Johnson is close behind with 375. Johnson also leads the team with 37 service aces this season while Najlaa Willias accounts for 31. Defensively,
Najlaa Williams is playing on another level as she is just four digs away from becoming the all-time single season digs leader in the Virginia State University Volleyball History book. She leads the CIAA and the team with 441 digs averaging 4.08 per set with a .892 receiving percentage.
Kennedy Hoge has been the swiss army knife of the team with 94 kills (fifth on team), 30 service aces (third on team) and 214 digs (Second on team).
Amaya Cooper leads the team in blocks with 56. Kelsea Saulny has emerged as a reliant force at the net as she leads the CIAA in conference blocks per set with 0.81. The team is coming into the match second in the CIAA in points (1,535), kills (1,124), blocks (164.0), service aces (247) and digs (1,475).
Scouting the Opponent – Winston-Salem State
The Rams are coming into the match 14-14 (9-6 CIAA) and are the fourth-seed in the CIAA Volleyball tournament. They have won five of their last six matches prior to entering the playoff matchup. The Rams are offensively led by Sanaa Lanier who has a team-high 204 kills. Breonna Young has been extremely efficient this season as she maintains a .291 hitting percentage with 163 kills. Raven Gray ranks ninth in the CIAA with 2.41 kills per set. Defensively, WSSU is led by Breonna Young who ranks third in the CIAA with 61 blocks. Myra Wallace ranks ninth in the CIAA with 216 digs on the season.
Up Next
The Trojans will play the winner between #1 Shaw and #8 Claflin if they are able to earn a victory against WSSU. The Semifinal matchup is set for November 11 in Salem, VA.
