Winston-Salem State (1-13) suffered a five-set loss to the Hampton Lady Pirates (3-8), Saturday afternoon at the South Carolina State Spikefest. The Lady Rams showed a lot of heart, giving the Lady Pirates a hard-fought battle for all five sets of the match.
After taking a pair of losses in the opening sets of the match, 17-25, and 23-25, the Lady Rams fought back with a pair of 25-22 set wins and nearly pulled out the win falling to the Lady Pirates, 13-15 in the final set.
The Lady Rams had got off to a slow start in the first set of the match but battled their way back, taking command of both the third and fourth set of the match and holding a lead in the final set.
As a team, the Lady Rams gave one of their best efforts of the season with 53 total kills and only 21 attack errors in the match. The team also racked up 12.0 total blocks in the effort.
WSSU senior hitter Annika Barnwell led the way for the Lady Rams with a season-high 21 kills along with seven digs. She also added four block assists and a solo block. Junior hitter Ashley Harris was also strong with 14 kills and 10 digs.
The weary Lady Rams will not have long to rest, however, as the team will close out the 2009 Spikefest Tournament, facing the Providence Friars in a 3 p.m. match.