BLUEFIELD, Va. – A boisterous crowd was on hand at Dome Gymnasium Friday night to cheer on the Bluefield College women's volleyball team in its home opener against Columbia (S.C.) College. On a night where the players and staff recognized family members who served in the military, the Rams claimed a hard-fought three set win over the visiting Koalas.

"I think we played mentally tough," said BC head coach Buddy Gallemore. "That's the best match we've played and we were very mentally tough. We pushed through at spots where we sometimes fold, and they fought through. To win a close match like that, even though it was 3-0, kudos to them on how hard they worked."

In the initial game the squads were tied at 10 before Bluefield closed the game on a 15-8 win to take a 25-18 win. Switching sides of the court the Rams, after being tied at three, went on a 10-4 run at which time Columbia called time. The Koalas charged back to close to within 17-14 when Bluefield used a timeout. There were ties, forced by Columbia at 20 and 24 and the Koalas took their first lead 24-25. The Rams tied at 25 before scoring the game's final two points to take a 27-25 win.

Game three was another tightly contested affair with ties early at seven and eight before BC went on a 5-1 run and forced Columbia to call time. The Koalas got to within a point of the lead on several occasions and drew even at 20. The last few points of the game saw some of the best volleys of the match. The final tie came at 22 and the game and match came to a conclusion as Bluefield rallied to score the final three points. The match-winner came on an ace by Amber Taylor-Inge to round out the game three score at 25-22.

"The point before (it was tied at 20), I saw they were looking at each other, looking for somebody to tell them what to do and they couldn't find it," Gallemore said. "That's why I called time out. Somebody has to be a leader. Somebody has to learn that on the floor, and they did. I called the time out right there and did it and they took over the rest of the set."

Freshman Camry McCroskey had 14 assists for the Rams and Channell Flores had eight. Ellen Johnson had 16 digs and Ashlyn VanDyke 13. Hannah Winter had 15 successful serves while Flores and Ellen Johnson had 13 apiece.

The Rams return to the court Saturday afternoon and host AAC foe St. Andrews at 1 p.m.