Boxscore

CALIFORNIA, Pa. – Saint Augustine's College's torrid late-season run came to a close Thursday (Nov. 17) with a 3-0 loss to California, Pa., in a NCAA Division II first-round women's volleyball match.
 
The Lady Falcons (17-18 overall) finished the season with eight wins in their last 10 matches. One of those victories was for the CIAA title, which qualified the Lady Falcons for the NCAA Tournament. It was their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
 
Playing in the Atlantic Regional, the Lady Falcons were seeded eighth. Despite not having played in 11 days, the Lady Falcons gave a good effort against top seed California, Pa. (32-4), the PSAC champion and host team of the regional. The Lady Falcons led briefly at one point during the second set of a 25-14, 25-16, 25-11 loss.
 
Senior outside hitter Kathryn Tokarski (Saskatchewan, Canada), the CIAA Tournament MVP, finished with a game-high 12 kills to go along with 11 digs for the Lady Falcons. Senior setter Roxanne Smith (St. Catherine, Jamaica) dished out 19 assists.
 
Ultimately, the Lady Falcons couldn't overcome their own mistakes and the power hitting of the Lady Vulcans. Seventeen attack errors led to a .094 attack percentage for the Lady Falcons. The Lady Falcons also had six service errors and 10 return errors.
 
The Lady Vulcans, led by Bridget Bielich's 10 kills, finished with 40 kills as a team for a .312 attack percentage. The Lady Vulcans also had 10 service aces.
 
The loss marks the end of the college careers of Tokarski, Smith and senior rightside hitter Keisha Parris (St. Catherine, Jamaica). The All-CIAA trio helped the Lady Falcons win a CIAA Championship and a CIAA Southern Division title during a two-year span.
 
The future is bright, however. First-year Head Coach Nikki Bynum will return four key players next season in sophomore middle blocker Victoria Davis (San Diego, Calif.), junior middle blocker Brittany Hicks (Louisburg, N.C.), freshman defensive specialist Cierra Neal (New Hill, N.C.) and junior outside hitter Abeje Carrington (St. George, Barbados).