RALEIGH, N.C. - The last regular-season volleyball match was great for Nicolette Campbell, Shakira Carter, Jerissa Lake, Courtney Mosley and Stephony Newkirk.
The five players were honored on Senior Night between the second and third set of the match against Johnson C. Smith. After the festivities, they helped the Lady Falcons finish off the Lady Golden Bulls in three sets Friday at Emery Gymnasium.
The victory pushed the Lady Falcons' record to 22-8 overall, their second straight 20-win season under Head Coach Covance Mortimer, a strong candidate for CIAA volleyball coach of the year. The Lady Falcons, who are the CIAA Southern Division champs, also finished the regular season with two other impressive achievements - a 7-0 home record and a 10-0 division mark. The Lady Golden Bulls fell to 9-19 overall, 5-12 in the CIAA and 2-8 in the Southern Division.
The night belonged to the seniors. Play was stopped during the match so they could be recognized before their home fans. They received gifts and took photos with College President Dr. Dianne Boardley Suber and Athletic Director George Williams in addition with their families and escorts.
Already ahead two sets to zero when play resumed, the Lady Falcons took the third set 25-15 for the match. They had won the first set 25-17 and the second set 25-7.
The seniors played well in their final home match. Carter (Sr./St. Michael, Barbados) led the Lady Falcons with 9 kills, seven digs, two service aces, two solo blocks and two blocking assists. Campbell (Jr./Nassau, Bahamas) added eight kills and a team-high four service aces while Newkirk (Sr./Greenville, N.C.) added five kills. Mosley (Jr./Decatur, Ga.) had five kills, two solo blocks and two blocking assists while Lake contributed 9 digs. Both Campbell and Mosley are juniors on the court but are scheduled to graduate in May along with the three seniors.
Roxanne Smith (Jr./St. Catherine, Jamaica) helped the seniors with 33 assists, and Keisha Parris (Jr./St. Catherine, Jamaica) had 10 digs. Kathryn Tokarski (Jr./Saskatchewan, Canada) chipped in three kills, two service aces and six digs. Tahlia Jolicoeur led the Lady Golden Bulls with six kills and Alexis Webb added 11 assists while Jennifer Williams had 9 digs.
The Lady Falcons (16-2 CIAA) had a huge advantage in kills (39-15) and service aces (10-1). Their attack percentage was .341 while the Lady Golden Bulls had 21 attack errors.
With the regular-season over, the Lady Falcons will now prepare for the CIAA Championships, which will be held Nov. 5-7 at Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Va. The official tournament pairings will be released early next week.
