FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Saint Augustine's University will open play in the CIAA Volleyball Tournament against Chowan University in a quarterfinal match at Capel Arena on the Fayetteville State University campus Friday, November 14, 2014. The match begins at noon, and admission is free.
 
Click HERE or go to theciaa.com for tournament schedule, directions to the arena and video livestream.
 
The Lady Falcons advanced to the tournament as the Southern Division No. 4 seed by defeating Shaw University in three sets on Friday, November 7. Chowan qualified as the top seed in the Northern Division. Eight teams – the top four seeds in the Northern and Southern Division – will compete for the conference title this weekend.
 
The winner of the Chowan University-Saint Augustine's University match will face the Winston-Salem State University-Elizabeth City State University winner in a semifinal match on Saturday, November 15 at 3 p.m. Unlike previous years, the tournament is a single-elimination event.
 
Saint Augustine's University and Chowan University met three times during the regular season with Chowan winning each match. The Lady Falcons enter the quarterfinal match 9-17 overall and Chowan is 23-6 overall.
 
The Lady Falcons are led by Olivia Porter (So./Bakersfield, CA), who ranks third in the CIAA in kills (318) and fifth in kills per set (3.24). She also averages 2.88 digs per set and has recorded 13 double-doubles in kills and digs.
 
Porter is the team's best server as well. She has a team-high 37 service aces.
 
Juliseea Thomas (Jr./St. Croix, US VI) leads the Lady Falcons in assists per set (4.57) and Marley Parker (Fr./Langley, British Columbia) is the team leader in digs per set (3.01). Mikayla Pettyjohn (Fr./Jamestown, N.C.) has the most total blocks (69) on the team.
 
For Chowan, Melanie Chaussee has 300 total kills and Nikira Fults has the CIAA's highest hitting percentage (.380). Cindy Ehrich leads the conference in digs (535) and digs per set (5.10), and Allison Smith is the league leader in assists per set (9.92).