Boxscore
HAMPTON, Va. – Saint Augustine's College gave a gallant effort, but Chowan pulled out a 3-2 win Sunday to claim its second consecutive CIAA women's volleyball crown at Boo Williams Sportsplex.
The loss ended one of the best seasons in recent years for the Lady Falcons (26-9 overall), who made their first title appearance since 2003. The Lady Falcons won the CIAA Southern Division title during the regular season for the first time in seven years.
“I don't smile much, but I had a lot to smile about this season,” said Lady Falcon Head Coach Covance Mortimer, the 2010 CIAA volleyball coach of the year. “We did well.”
Kathryn Tokarski (Jr./Saskatchewan, Canada) collected a match-high 20 kills along with 15 digs and three blocks to lead the Lady Falcons. Stephony Newkirk (Sr./Greenville, N.C.) added 11 kills and Shakira Carter (Sr./St. Michael, Barbados) had 10 kills and 10 digs.
Roxanne Smith (Jr./St. Catherine, Jamaica) finished with 41 assists and Nicolette Campbell (Jr./Nassau, Bahamas) matched Tokarski with 15 digs for the Lady Falcons. Keisha Parris (Jr./St. Catherine, Jamaica) added 11 digs and Brittany Hicks (Soph./Louisburg, N.C.) had 10 digs.
CIAA most valuable player Karina Monroe led the Hawks (22-12 overall) with 19 kills to go along with four blocks and tournament MVP Victoria Lewis added 18 kills and 19 digs. Monica Ruffin had 11 kills and Callie Armistead handed out 49 assists and contributed 10 digs. Tara Thomalla had 15 digs and Courtney Hechinger had 11 digs for the Hawks, who won 25-15, 19-25, 25-16, 27-29, 15-8.
The Lady Falcons forced a fifth set after Tokarski scored three straight kills for a 29-27 win in the fourth set. They led 4-1 in the final set, but the Hawks came back to tie the score at 8-8. From that point, the Hawks scored seven points in a row to take the title.
The Lady Falcons started slowly, losing the first set 25-15. They bounced back to win the second set 25-19. The Hawks had the momentum in the third set as they took a 25-16 win.
The Lady Falcons had defeated the Hawks 3-1 in tournament pool play on Friday. But the Hawks turned the tables on the Lady Falcons Sunday. The Hawks won two of three matches in the series this season. Both wins were in five sets.
“I really feel it for our seniors,” Mortimer said. “They went through a lot in four years. It is regrettable that we did not finish, but we will be back next year.”
Tokarski and Campbell of the Lady Falcons were named to the all-tournament team. They joined Monroe, Armistead and Lewis of Chowan. The other all-tourney picks were Whitney Green of Elizabeth City State, and Achari Mainor, Samantha Weeks and Octavia Wynn of Fayetteville State.
