Fayetteville, NC - Fayetteville State University held a ring ceremony to celebrate its 2019 CIAA Volleyball Champions before hosting Winston-Salem State for its conference opener in Felton J. Capel Arena. It was double the celebration after the Broncos swept the Rams 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-22). The victory improves FSU's record to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in the CIAA. WSSU's drops to 1-7 and 0-1.
 
The 2019 CIAA Championship MVP Da'Nesha Miller led the Broncos with 7 kills, by way of setter Jaida Bynum, who led the team with 17 assists. Outside hitter Bailey Robinson followed with 6 kills of her own.
 
The energy in the Capel Arena was through the roof with approximately 400+ students and fans supporting the Broncos "Blue Out" game.
 
Both teams came out strong in the first set. WSSU held the lead until FSU's four-point run, setting the score at 17-19. A service ace by Xiamana Spikes gave the Broncos a two-point advantage (21-19) and after a Ram timeout with the score 24-22, Kalee Vanderhorst's kill from the outside put the set away.
 
Winston-Salem State took an early 6-3 lead forcing FSU into a timeout in the second set. The rest was all FSU until a WSSU comeback effort would lead to a six-point run and pushing their score from 23-15 to 23-21. The scoring run was mainly fueled by 4 kills and an ace. The Broncos would ultimately hold on to the second set (25-21) following an attack error from the Rams.
 
The third set started slow for FSU. Eventually, the Broncos would come back with a four-point run, leaving them in the lead at 15-10.
 
The Rams continued to fight back with a seven-point run that would put them in the lead at 17-15. Their momentum slackened as attack errors gave way to an FSU five-point run. The Broncos won the set 25-22 by way of a kill from Ashlyn Bradley, sending FSU's crowd into celebration.