CLEVELAND, Ga. – Truett McConnell women's volleyball travels over to Columbia, S.C. for an Appalachian Athletic Conference road match against defending conference champion Columbia International University tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m.
 
The Lady Bears are 14-4 overall and 4-0 in AAC play. They are winners of six straight and eight of the past nine matches which includes a 3-0 week against Montreat, Brenau and Reinhardt.
 
The Rams have owned the recent series between the two teams, controlling a 13-match winning streak over the Lady Bears which dates to September of 2020. The lady Bears last won a set against CIU in 2022 with a match score of 3-1.
 
CIU enters Tuesday with a 6-10 overall record and a 2-2 mark in AAC play. Of the 16 matches played so far, five have been against team ranked in the NAIA poll. The Rams started conference play with back-to-back losses at Brenau and Reinhardt before winning two straight vs. Spartanburg Methodist and Columbia College.
 
Zcearia James is the offensive leader for the team with 2.89 kills per set, totaling 165.0 points on the year. On the set, Maria Ferreira and Macy Brooks lead the way with 4.69 and 4.56 assists per set, respectively. Ferreira is also the ace leader for the Rams with 17 total in 2026.
 
Ashley Burgbacher is the start for CIU on the back end of the court. She brings in 256 digs on the season, good for 4.83 per set. Both statistics rank first in the conference. Savannah Kelly controls the net with 45.0 total blocks and 0.82 per set, which is fourth in the AAC.
 
For Truett, Faith Clarkson is the kill leader with 1.92 per set and 123 total while Julia Fisher is recording 1.76 kills per set. Caroline Yeager and Grace Lamontagne control the set with 194 and 188 assists, respectively. The former had a standout performance last Saturday, producing 21 assists and 16 digs in the 3-2 win over Reinhardt.
 
Yeager also leads on total aces with 30 while Jade Seaman has 0.53 aces per set, which ranks fourth in the conference. Adleigh Schwier is the primary libero with 119 total digs including 25 recorded in Saturday's win.  As a team, TMU ranks first in aces per set and fifth in blocks per set.