Southern Division top seed Saint Augustine's College advanced to Saturday's semifinals after going 3-0 in pool play Friday including a four-set victory over defending champion Chowan at the CIAA Volleyball Championships at Boo Williams Sportsplex. The Lady Falcons, the Southern Division champions, will face Northern Division top-seed Elizabeth City State in the semifinals at 7 p.m. while Chowan faces Southern Division second seed Fayetteville State at 5 p.m. in single-elimination matches.
The Lady Falcons (25-8 overall) defeated Chowan , the Northern Division No. 2 seed , 25-19, 25-22, 15-25, 25-19. The victory was the first against Chowan since the Hawks entered the CIAA last season. The Hawks had won four straight over the Lady Falcons before Friday's match.
Kathryn Tokarski (Jr./Saskatchewan, Canada) led the way for the Lady Falcons with 15 kills. Roxanne Smith (Jr./St. Catherine, Jamaica) handed out 32 assists and Keisha Parris (Jr./St. Catherine, Jamaica) had nine digs. All three players made the All-CIAA first team for the Lady Falcons earlier this week.
CIAA player of the year Karina Monroe tallied 15 kills and Victoria Lewis added 14 kills while Callie Armistead had 36 assists for the Hawks (20-12 overall). Tara Thomalla totaled 11 digs and Monroe led the Hawks with five blocks.
Earlier Friday, the Lady Falcons defeated Virginia Union 3-0 and Winston-Salem State 3-0 in pool play. Against Virginia Union (8-19), Tokarski and Parris tied for team honors with 11 kills each for the Lady Falcons, who won 25-11, 25-19, 25-14. Smith dished out 30 assists while Tokarski and All-CIAA player Nicolette Campbell (Jr./Nassau, Bahamas) both had eight digs.
Against Winston-Salem State, Tokarski amassed a match-high 18 kills for the Lady Falcons, who won 25-23, 25-15, 25-19. Smith had 30 assists and Campbell had nine digs. Ashley Harris had 11 kills and Kiara Brown gave out 22 assists while Lakeisha Hawes had seven digs for the Lady Rams (12-14).
The Lady Falcons have now won six matches in a row. They have only lost one set during the streak.
