FAYETTEVILLE, NC- The Winston-Salem State University volleyball team swept the Lincoln University (PA) Lady Lions 3-0 on Friday afternoon to secure a spot in Saturday's CIAA Semi-Finals.  The Lady Rams advance with a 20-7 overall record while the Lady Lions end the year with a 6-14 mark.  

Winston-Salem State earned a 25-10 victory in the first set and followed up with 25-15 and 25-14 victories in the second and third sets, respectively. 

Olivia Owens led all players in the contest with nine kills for Winston-Salem State.  Sydney Holland followed with eight kills in the victory while Jasmine Smith handed out 24 assists. Michelle Murray-Garcia grabbed 21 digs over the course of the contest while Teynia Sheperd and Jasmine Smith each added 10 digs. 

Jillian Lee (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Poly Institute) paced Lincoln (PA) with four kills while Soyini Hugget (Bear, DE/Delaware Tech CC) and Mariah Russell (St. Louis, MO/Maplewood Richmond Heights HS) added three kills apiece.  Shanna King (Newark, NJ/University High School) accounted for seven assists while Syndey Cook notched 15 digs.  Hugget and King each tallied 14 digs in the setback.

The Lady Rams raced to a quick 4-0 lead at the start of the first set.  They built their lead to 11-1 after a kill by Owens, leaving the Lady Lions trailing with an insurmountable deficit.  Winston-Salem State maintained a comfortable lead through the duration of the first set and clinched the 25-10 opening victory on a Lady Lion error. 

Lincoln (PA) fought back in the second set, matching the Lady Rams point for point early in the battle.  With the score tied 7-7, the Lady Rams orchestrated a 8-0 run to leave the Lady Lions trailing 15-7.  Lincoln (PA) was unable to fight back and suffered the 25-15 setback in set two after a kill by Holland. 

The Lady Rams clung to the momentum in the third set and jumped to an early 7-2 lead to establish control.  With the score knotted 10-10, a 6-1 run by Winston-Salem State pushed the Lady Rams ahead 16-11.  The Lady Lions were unable to overcome the deficit and Winston-Salem State closed out the 25-14 set win using a Lady Lion attack error. 

Winston-Salem State will take on the winner of Friday's Fayetteville State University/Virginia State University quarterfinal match at 5:00pm on Saturday.