The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (1-14) gave a great effort, but came up short in a 3-1 loss to the Providence Friars (6-11) in their final match of the 2009 Lady Bulldogs Spikefest in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
Playing just over an hour and a half after their last match, a five-set marathon against Hampton, the Lady Rams showed a lot of heart in forcing four sets against the Friars.
The Lady Rams got off to a slow start falling to the Friars, 10-25 in the first set, but battled back for a close 22-25 loss in the second set. The Lady Rams fought back to take the third set 25-22, but the Lady Rams fell to the Friars in a 14-25 loss in the fourth set.
WSSU senior hitter Annika Barnwell led the way for the Lady Rams with a double-double 14 kills and 13 digs. Junior Ashley Harris added nine kills in the loss.
The Lady Rams will return home for their next action, hosting Virginia Commonwealth on Wednesday before heading to Durham, N.C. to take part in the North Carolina Central Invitational.